Don't Forget to Live
by hola skankola
Summary: Beast Boy's death has changed everything. Raven can't be herself anymore. So, she changes into something she's not and gets more than she bargained for. Mainly RaeBB, with RaeRedX & RaeOC. RATED HIGH T FOR A REASON!
1. Crossing the Frame

**A/N**: This idea somewhat sprouted off a plotline from Next Generation: Black Baron. It's tweaked majorly, but it's got the same basic plotline. I really feel good about this fic, and this first chapter is just a small taste of what is to come. Hopefully chapters will be longer, but I want to get advice before I continue. Thanks a bunch. Oh, and Next Generation should be updated soon (like next two days).

**Disclaimer**: Oh how I wish the Teen Titans were mine. Alas, they are not. Neither is Coheed and Cambria.

**TT**

**Crossing the Frame**

It was a quiet night; all was undisturbed within the walls of Titan's Tower. The wind howled softly outside, disturbing none from their peaceful slumber; all except two, who had already awakened from their slumber a long while prior. One was preoccupied with his thoughts, thinking of many things that had been plaguing his mind for many days. The other, young female blossoming into a beautiful young woman was meditating on her bed, unable to sleep for the emotions of the afore-mentioned male were keeping her awake.

This was very unusual for many reasons. Normally it was Starfire who kept her awake, for Starfire was the most emotional of the team, and normally it wasn't too long. Starfire went to bed relatively early, where her emotions were calmed by her dreams. But for the past few nights, it was Beast Boy that had been keeping her up. He'd been having mixed emotions about something, something involving fear, depression, regret, rage, and negative emotions of the like. In fact, for the past week, he had been even more reclusive than Raven. He had drifted away from all of the Titans, instead opting to stay in his room all day and listen to music or play video games. Actually, there were times when his emotions completely blacked out, which meant he was sleeping. You did not feel emotions when you slept, or at least Raven could not feel emotions when you slept.

Though Raven would not admit it, he worried her. She didn't want a suicidal Beast Boy, which had been something the tabloids had been blowing out of proportion. They had as well noticed a change in the youngest Titans' demeanor, and had started spreading rumors of his suicidal tendencies. Robin had immediately dispelled these rumors, though, and stated in a public interview that he kept a close eye on all his teammates and knew for a fact that Beast Boy was Not suicidal. This did nothing to suppress the tabloids, though.

Raven sighed as his emotions drifted further and further and she could finally lie down and get some sleep. But, contrary to popular belief, she did have a heart. She would be a monster if she left Beast Boy alone in such a state. So, she stepped from her bed, fastened her cloak over her pajamas to pretend she was still wearing her leotard (she hated being seen in anything else), and floated silently out the door. It was unlike her to be this generous, but she felt she had been putting him down a lot lately, and it would give her brownie points to see what was up. Could it possibly be her that put him in such a state?

Raven shrugged to herself. 'Nah,' she inwardly thought. Things she said never got to Beast Boy. He was too strong of a person to let any of her petty comments get to him. He may not look it, but sometimes he could be a very stolid person. Raven floated towards the source of his feelings, as they grew stronger and stronger to her sixth sense. She finally located him in the kitchen/living room. Manually, she opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, watching as he fixed a tofu ham sandwich and never looked up. After he finished and promptly cleaned up after himself, he retired to the couch to watch late-night programming and eat the said sandwich. He set it down for a few minutes as the show came to a commercial and turned down the volume. It was moments before he began humming to himself, and quietly began singing. All Raven caught was, "_I left in a sudden rush and never said why you couldn't know that I had no goodbyes_" before he started humming again. Then, he sighed.

Raven never once spoke, and he never once looked up. Only did he continue to nibble at his rather large midnight snack. He made no sort of acknowledgment towards her, but about five minutesafter South Park continued, grunted, "Having fun?".

Raven snapped from her trance and made a face. She had been caught. "How did you know I was here?" she asked curiously as she flew over the couch and sat a little way away from him. "No offense, but you aren't too smart."

Beast Boy sighed. "I may not be smart, but I can be useful sometimes. My enhanced senses." Raven really hadn't meant any offense towards him, but the tone of his voice made her wince. "I could hear you a mile away. I knew it was you because it was the distinctive sound of a cape floating in the air. Starfire can fly but has no cape. Robin has a cape, but can't fly. Cyborg has no cape and can't fly. Unless there was an intruder, which is impossible because of the security system, it had to be you."

"Oh," was her intelligent and articulate response.

"Yeah," he replied, taking another bite of his sandwich and watching the television show with disinterest. He set half of the sandwich on its plate and held it out towards Raven. "You hungry?" he asked politely.

Raven was starving, but she would drop dead before she took a bite of that disgusting tofu stuff. "Sure," slipped from her mouth before she could stop it. She picked up the sandwich, nibbled it, then set it back on the plate. Beast Boy sighed and set it on the table in front of them. "What brought you up here?" he asked disinterestedly, merely asking to break the uncomfortable silence.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied in her normal monotone.

"I wasn't tired, and I was hungry," he grunted, trying to reply in the least words possible.

"You were keeping me awake." The words slipped from her mouth, once more, before she could stop them. After they left her lips she realized how intimate it sounded, but unfortunately turning back time was the one power she did not have. "I mean, y'know, I meant that you were just really nervous and I couldn't sleep because-"

Beast Boy chuckled, and Raven recalled that it was the first time she heard him laugh in two weeks. It sounded kind of sweet after she went a while with out it. I guess it's true what they say you don't know what you've got til it's gone. "I get what you mean, Rae."

"Raven," she stressed. "And thank you."

They fell into another silence as Beast Boy continued to stare at the television screen. It had lapsed into a commercial break but started up again with the four young boys standing at their trademark bus stop. "I wish life were simple like that," Beast Boy sighed. "Hanging with friends at a bus stop, talking about the latest happenings that are merely which friends have hooked up and which friends have broken up."

Raven had never heard something so serious come from his mouth. And it surprised her. "Yea," was all she could responded, for she was stunned to the point where she could no longer form coherent words. "Uh, yeah, life would be great if it were simple like that. Unfortunately, we're Titans. Life will never be simple."

"Don't I know it," he whispered, reaching to pick up his sandwich once more. He took a large bite and savored it. "I know you don't think I'm smart, but I can think. And lately I've been thinking about life." He sighed. "About my role in the world, the affect I've had on others, my purpose; y'know, things like that. Sometimes I just don't feel adequate. Like I don't live up to the name of the Titans. Like I shouldn't be a hero, let alone a famed Titan. Do I deserve such an honor?"

Raven finally found her voice, recovering from hearing such things come from the young, green, and relatively unintelligent Titan. "I think you do. You're a part of this team. You contribute to our success everyday. I know that you belong here. Don't ever question that. I might make fun of you, I might bring you down, and I might tell you that you are the world's biggest screw-up, but you know I care about you. I care about everyone on the team. I just have a hard time showing it."

"Thanks, Raven, but that's not helping much," Beast Boy told her, looking up from behind his sandwich with a small grin. "I guess nothing's really helping much lately. I've been thinking a lot about this subject, and nothing seems to calm me much. I just..." Beast Boy sighed, placing the sandwich down and looking away. "I don't know."

They fell into silence once more. Raven pulled her knees up to her chest, sighed, and rested her chin upon them. The gears in her head cleared their midnight haze and began turning, thinking about everything he just said as he disinterestedly watched the television screen again. So, he didn't feel like he fit in? He'd rather be normal than be a hero? But Raven could've swore he enjoyed being a hero.

Everyone had to be wrong once in their life.

Bast Boy sighed, pulling her from her reverie, and turned off the television, leaving them in almost complete darkness. The only thing that lit the two up was the moon and the myriad of stars outside the large windows in front of them. "Hey, Rae," he began softly. She let this use of her nickname go, just this once. "Do you know where Cyborg keeps the keys for his emergency car? I wanna take a little drive before I try and get some sleep. Maybe you can get some sleep in return."

She smiled gently, but it was not noticeable. "Thanks. He keeps them on the second to the left hook down in the garage, on the wall where the circuit breakers are. Make sure you're careful," she told him. "And wear your rings so no one nottices you!" She was referring to the holographic rings Cyborg produced for all of them so they would not be recognized in the 'real' world.

He smirked. "But I won't be able to use my powers," he pointed out.

"Who cares, as long as no one recognizes. Don't want to be mobbed by the paparazzi at midnight, do you?" was her feeble attempt at a joke towards him.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Ok, I'll wear my rings. AndI'll be safe, I promise." He looked away for a split-second before looking back at her. Beast Boy stood, showing his true height, a five-foot six-inch almost-seventeen-year old. He walked over towards her, and moved in to hug her, but at the last moment he moved his face so his lips locked onto hers. Raven's eyes bugged from her head and she was seconds from pushing him away, before he pulled away of his own accord. "I love ya, Rae. Don't ever forget that. And don't forget to live." He paused and smiled at her. "Just live."

He continued towards the door at an ambling pace and stopped short in front of the frame, looking back upon her. The moonlight illuminated her, but he could not see it for her back was still turned to him and she was rigid in her stance. Beast Boy took one last look at her, sighed sadly, and walked from the room. "I'm sorry, Raven," he whispered as he began towards the Titans' Garage for one last time. He would have no regrets. He promised himself. And he would not cry; he would be strong. This was something he needed to do. And no one, not even the woman he loved, would stop him.

And Raven did not move, nor did she turn, even after he left. She kept her hands clasped in her lap, where they had been for the entire duration fo their little talk. I believe they would call what she is experiencing shock. Shock from just being kissed by one of the most confusing members of the Teen Titans. And worse, Raven enjoyed it.

It was a while before she moved at all. Raven's eyes darted towards the quarter of the sandwich on the coffee table and she smiled softly before resting her body against the couch, and letting her eyes flutter closed.

It was not long before she was overcome by a semi-restful sleep.

**TT**


	2. Chasing Daydreams

**A/N**: I only got a few reviews but that's ok. I'm doing this for my own entertainment, not to live off reviews. I hope those who read and don't review like this chapter. This is only my second extended story, so feel free to criticize.

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, the only cartoon I own is a cartoon of my own creation. Anyone wanna trade MidNyte for Teen Titans? Eh? Eh?

**IMPORTANT**: Just to let you know, each chapter will be titled with a song you REALLY should listen to while reading said chapter. It is the song that inspired the chapter, most times, because my writing is inspired by music.

**TT**

"Raven? Raven?" a soft voice called to her. She looked up to see Beast Boy's smiling face looking down upon her. "Raven, you know what time it is," he started softly, leaning down to press his lips against hers. His tongue slid past her lips as his hands began roaming. She moaned lightly, and ran her hands up his body. Suddenly, water began filling her mouth and as she tried to breath she could only choke on water that began running through her lungs. Beast Boy disappeared and she was surrounded by brilliantly shining light. Everything was getting darker as she felt life slipping from her grasp.

She attempted to save her life by kicking off solid ground beneath her, but she could feel nothing beneath her. Everything soon went black. "Raven? Raven? Raven, c'mon, it's ok. Wake up!" Beast Boy's voice called. "Raven, you need to help me!" he called eagerly. "Wake up!" Raven thrashed in the water she could still feel around herself, but couldn't breath. Her lungs were in a vise that she could not escape. With on last gasp for breath she flung her body upwards and her eyes snapped open as she looked to the Titans around her.

"What happened?" she asked them, her chest rising and falling as she attempted to calm herself from the vivid nightmare. "What time is it?" It was then that she realized that the Titan she had been talking to last night, commonly known as Beast Boy, was no where to be seen. It did not surprise her, for he had been reclusive lately, but she was worried.

"It's almost three, Raven," Robin announced worriedly. "We decided to let you sleep because you looked a bit out of sorts, but it's getting late and we were getting worried." They were getting worried because she slept late? "Wait...where's Beast Boy?" she asked

"That is what we were the 'worried' about," Starfire told her, her hands clasped in front of her. "Please, you have not seen Beast Boy lately, have you?"

"I saw him last night...why?" Raven asked.

"He is not...here. We have looked about the tower, and he is no where to be seen. And Cyborg has reported his car of the back-up is missing," Starfire informed her. "We suspect he took the car and stayed out all night, forgetting to call like last time." And it was true; there had been a last time.

"He did take the car," Raven affirmed. "I talked to him last night, but he told me he was just going to take a drive and come right back. He wanted to calm his nerves or something. I'm sure he'd be back by now. Cyborg, can you get a track on the car?" Raven asked her bulky teammate.

"I have a global positioning satellite receiver in the car, but it won't pick up the signal. It seems to be malfunctioning or something," Cyborg told her. "His communicator's offline, and his cell-phone's gone dead. We can't find the little grass stain."

Raven thought for a moment. "There's nothing you can do besides that to find him? There isn't-say-a way to track him, personally?"

Robin nodded his head. "Our tracking device on him was his communicator. If that's offline, we have no track on him. We called the Jump City Police and told them the description of the car. They're keeping their eyes peeled for it, but so far we haven't heard anything."

Raven thought for a moment. "So I guess this means patrolling the city the rest of the day to find him?" Raven asked, already predicting her fate.

"You guessed it," Robin affirmed.

**TT**

Raven did NOT like this. She currently stood on the roof of some random building, overlooking one of the main streets of Jump City. Ever since she woke up and talked to the Titans, they had been patrolling the city to find their lost comrade. If he was just out goofing off, Raven was going to shoot him.

She sat on the edge of the roof and dangled her legs, sighing wistfully. She looked out upon all the happy people, the couples, the friends, the complete strangers, all passing each other on the side walks without a care for the other. It must be amazing to be a normal person. Raven could relate to what Beast Boy said the previous night.

And then her mind drifted to the kiss. No, it had not been the perfect kiss. It had been short, chaste, and a simple peck. His hand had cupped her neck for merely a few moments before he pulled back. Raven imagined his hand was still there and sighed in contentment.

WHOA.

Raven, get a grip on yourself. She shook her head clear of the thoughts that began to invade her mind. She did not need to distract herself with petty thoughts of a simple kiss she had shared with her teammate. The kiss had merely been a way to show her how much he cared. His caring was platonic, and nothing more. He had said that many times. Well, maybe not said it, but he had shown her in inadvertent ways.

"_I will have no fear as long as you are with me_," Raven sang softly and sadly, watching the people below. She inwardly snorted. "But you're not with me. I guess we really are just chasing daydreams." There was an extended silence. "BB, you better get your green butt back here. I miss ya, already, squirt." She still called him squirt though he was now taller than her.

Raven continued to watch the people below, until she heard an alarm go off. She looked below to see a blur of red and black running from a nearby jewelry store, holding a large bulging sack. "Red X," Raven pronounced through gritted teeth. She pulled out her communicator and clearly spoke into it. "Red X. Corner of Main and Hibiscus. Jewelry store. Heading Southwest. Requesting back-up!"

With that, she flew off the building and began towards the street at a downward spiral. People gasped as they saw, and a small circle cleared as Raven soon pulled her body up so she was flying in the direction of Red X. A few people took notice and shouted things like "Yea!" or "Go!". Raven smirked to herself. Sometimes being a hero was rewarding.

"STOP!" she commanded towards Red X as soon as she got close enough for him to hear. He only snorted indignantly and continued running. Raven gritted her teeth. "Azarath...Metrion...ZINTHOS!" With this she let go a huge ball of black energy. It was a shame that it was wasted since Red X had pulled out a grappling hook and launched himself onto the nearest roof and out fo Raven's line of sight. She flew up tot he roof and prepared to trap him within her black energy, but he had completely disappeared.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Raven screamed, and a vent nearby burst. Raven calmed her breath, dropped to the roof in the lotus position, and began her chant. She would calm herself until Robin and the others arrived on the scene to evaluate the crime.

Oh, could this day get worse?

**TT**

Later that night all the Titans regrouped after one final search back at the Tower. They were beginning to get worried, since they had not heard from him in twenty-four hours. Raven was probably the one worrying the most, since she knew what he had been thinking about before he disappeared. Should she share what she knew with Robin or the others? Was it important to the current situation.

Raven sighed and leaned back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. The moon was shining bright just outside her window and she looked towards it with watering eyes. A tear escaped down her cheek as she thought of his last words.

'_Just live_.'

What could that mean? Did it possibly hold some deep meaning that she was missing? Wait, what was she talking about? This was BEAST BOY! Of course there was no deep meaning to it. But then again, she underestimated him once, and she could very well underestimate him again.

Raven took her pillow and smothered her face with it. Why did life have to be so complicated. Just live? What kind of advice was that? Was he high or something when he had said that? Raven highly doubted that, for she knew that the green teen had been clean his entire life, but there were first for everything. Still, it was a laughable prospect.

"Raven?" a voice asked as it knocked at her door. "Raven?"

She recognized it as Cyborg.

"Yea?" she asked back, though her pillow muffled her speech.

"Do you want anything for dinner? I'm making hamburgers and fries if you're hungry, or I could make something special for you," he told her, his voice tired. Searching for Beast Boy had taken a toll on all of them. They were tired, hungry, and slightly depressed. What if there was something wrong?

"I'm not hungry," she told him. "But would you mind starting a pot of tea for me?"

"No problem," he replied, and she could imagine the small smile on his half-mechanical face. "Green Tea?"

"You know me all too well," Raven replied. "Thanks."

She heard the thumping footsteps that signaled Cyborg was walking away. Raven pulled the pillow away from her face and looked out the window to the moon, to see it had dipped slightly. She sighed slightly and rubbed her bare leg, her hand traveling over the scratch she had gotten when she offered to talk him for a walk in the park. A smile came to her lips as she remembered.

"Oh, Beast Boy, where are you?"

**TT**


	3. Collapsed

**Disclaimer**: If the Teen Titans were mine, life would be good. Butlife is not good. See the connection, there?

**A/N**: I hope you like the next chapter!

**TT**

The next few days dragged on insufferably. Robin was now growing even more worried for their lost comrade and ordered overtime searching until he (or at least a clue to his whereabouts) was found. Each of the Titans was downtrodden over his disappearance, and each was showing it in their own way. Starfire had been much more quiet since the previous Sunday (It was now Saturday), and often drifted into her own thoughts while staring out the window. Cyborg, too, had been much more quiet, but also lost zest for things he once loved to do, like fixing up his car or beating the high score on the video games. Robin seemed to be taking it worst of all, though he would not show it. The emotional damage was certainly doing something to him, though he was too caught up in his own pride to admit it.

And last, but certainly not least, Raven. She was just like Robin; she did not show the emotional pain of losing someone close, if she could even call Beast Boy close. But, either way, her demeanor did not change; she constantly traveled, expressionless, through the halls, watching the other Titans but never saying a word. Most of the time she locked herself in her room, but when she did venture out nothing changed.

Raven traced circles on her midnight blue silk bedsheets, sighing. Everything was useless at this point. Raven had tried to locate him with a mental placement method, but that fell through. It just seemed to fizzle out. She tried sweeping the city with her soul self, but again the connection fizzled out. Raven didn't know if she could be of any help.

Chewing her bottom lip softly, she slipped silently as a ghost off of her bed, and without bothering to fasten her famed cloak about her shoulders, glided out the door. It had been a long week, and she was about ready to pass out, but not before one more visit to a place she had been going often.

Her fingers traveled over the keypad and punched in the access code to his room. With a slight groan the door slid open and revealed a dark room already coated with a barely noticeable layer of dust. Her delicate gray fingers skimmed over his desk as she maneuvered her way around piles of clothes and other paraphernalia. She looked about the room, to the bunk bed tucked in the corner, the closet tucked in the other, the dresser straight ahead, and various other stands littering the room. It was a while since she had seen this room.

"Too long, eh?" she asked herself with a hollow chuckle. "Ah, brings the memories back." She fell into his couch and found that it already had the print of his rear-end. She shifted until she got comfortable and then rested for a little bit. "Beast Boy. Annoying little twit," she spoke to no one in particular.

She stood and walked towards the window, giving it one great push and letting it slide open. She watched the sun reflect the beautiful colors of the sunset. The wind seemed to whisper her name as she closed her eyes and let the sensational feeling wipe over her. "Why do I care so much if you're gone? Good riddance," she was trying to convince no one but herself. "But a part of me realizes that you might be out there, cold, alone, hurt, or worse. I could never handle that. There's been too much drama in my life. I couldn't handle you being hurt too."

Beast Boy, though he had been an immature fifteen-year old, had grown. He was now almost seventeen, a towering green animorph with sparkling emerald eyes and a shaggy head of hair to match, with his trademark fang and pointed ears. His boyish charm still remained, though held more of a manly air as he evolved into a mature adult. As well, he had become a bit more intellectual since he was fifteen. Not much, but enough for Raven to notice him as maybe a bit more than a friend.

I mean, come on, the kid now WILLINGLY read books that were not classified as graphic novels and actually understood words more than three syllables long. Not to mention he was hot. What normal seventeen-year old girl WOULDN'T be attracted to such a package?

Even though Raven was not normal, she was still a girl-neigh-woman. She noticed the opposite sex. Maybe sometimes more than necessary. And, as much as she hated to admit it, Beast Boy was a member of the opposite sex. A rather attractive and borderline intelligent member of the opposite sex.

Raven smirked to herself. "Loser," she mumbled as she stared at a picture of him driving in Cyborg's back-up car. He was the only other Titan that drove a car; Starfire didn't drive, Robin drove his R-Cycle, Cyborg drove his T-Car, and Raven-

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have gone there.

You see, Raven failed her driving test six times. After the sixth time, she just decided to give up all together. She was positive the test was jinxed anyways. The stupid instructor made a recurring comment about her road rage. So, if Raven needed transportation, she would turn to Cyborg. And if Cyborg was not available, she had no other choice but turn to Beast Boy, or fly. And sometimes flying was NOT an option.

Trust me; sometimes being in a car with Beast Boy was a worse fate than death. He was a superb driver, and he never made any slip-ups or mistakes (which Raven found very illogical, and in many instances, questioned his ability), but Raven could not take the awkward silences. He often cracked a joke or two, and then just left it to pure silence. Sometimes it was fine, for he would turn up the stereo and let Raven pick a station. By now, he knew her favorite song to come over the radio was 'Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Pants Off' by Panic! At the Disco. He actually bothered to make a mix CD of Panic! At the Disco for her. It wouldn't surprise her if he knew all the words to all their songs because of her.

But Raven was getting off track again. She always managed to do that when thinking of her fellow platonic teammate. Platonic. Beast Boy is platonic. She reminded herself of this over and over, smiling softly for she knew she was lying. She would never be able to look someone straight in the eye and clearly say, "Not once have I ever or will I ever even consider having feelings for the green little fluff-ball I call a teammate".

All girls, even Raven, were allowed to be hormone-driven and shallow at atleast one point in there life, right? Raven stepped over a small pile of clothes towards his closet. That was another thing; he was a neater person. Well, not really, Robin just yelled at him that the stench of his room was killing all the Titans, so Beast Boy tended to clean up his room more often (and he actually did a good job!). He was still messy as ever, though.

Raven slid open one of the mirrored doors to his closet and peered inside the walk-in to see it was rather neat (for Beast Boy). There were boxes on the top shelf and his shirts and pants and uniforms were all semi-organized on their racks. There was a wire shoe rack below his clothes that held a few pairs of sneakers, some of his boots, a pair of sport sandals, and a pair of slippers.

Raven chewed her lip nervously. She had no idea why she was even doing this. Why did it matter? Why did she bother?

She walked out and closed the doors back up, walking over to his desk for one last look about before she would retire to bed and sleep until the next morning, when they would be on patrol again. Her fingers traveled over the empty part of the desk where his notebook computer normally lay. He must've taken it with him on the drive, but Raven had no idea why he would do that.

Her hands traveled over papers skewed across the desk and she cleared a few papers to reveal a large emerald box. She cocked her head as if questioning the box. It was thin, somewhat flat, and long, as if it held a piece of jewelry. Raven curiously used both of her delicate hands to open up the lid and dispose of it somewhere on the desk. She didn't pay attention as to where.

Her violet eyes rested up an ornate silver necklace that was made up of beautiful chain links, with Azarathian scripture upon it. In the center, there was an octagonal deep violet gem, that reflected light and shone beautifully. Raven could see her awed expression against the gem. With delicacy, Raven picked up the necklace and awed at it. It was the revered Amulet of Azar. Raven noticed a white piece of paper had been under the necklace and softly set it down to retrieve the folded note, unfolded it, and read.

Raven,

I was browsing a book store for something new to read (imagine, ME, reading! I guess I got bored with all the video games in the tower) and I saw a book about ancient other-worldly cultures. One was Azarathian. I read about the myth of this gem, and about how whatever Azarathian wears it has the ability to feel as long as they have it, having been granted special powers by the great Azar. I enclosed the passage if you'd like to read it. Well, I thought, y'know, it would help you to 'just live'. I hope you like it.

Love,

Garfield (Beast Boy)

Raven's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he went and did something like this. Something so completely uncharacteristic, she didn't even know what to say. Instead of saying anything, she slipped the necklace onto her neck and clasped it. The gem glowed silver for a second, before returning to the normal deep amethyst.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, a smile cracking her long-emotionless face. And an unusual feeling was sweeping through her body. Could it be-happiness?

Raven sighed and felt hot tears of anger and sadness slipping down her ashen cheeks. She had screwed it all up. She had this wonderful boy right in front of her the whole time, and she chickens out before admitting her feelings, and now he may be gone forever. And Beast Boy often complimented her for her smarts.

Suddenly, making Raven jump, his alarm clock went off like it does every night at six (for dinner, of course), and the short piece of a song played before Raven could cross the room and shut it off. It flowed softly out of the lips of a female duo and through Raven's ears, soothing her soul; "_I over thought, I locked up my heart, yeah, there you stood_". It could describe Raven's feelings perfectly right now. Funny a song could do that when even she couldn't.

So feelings did get in the way.

Well, there was no use moping about it now. Raven made sure the passage was in the box before she lightly placed the note back in, closed it up, and picked it up to press it against her chest. With an air of semi-confidence, she walked out of his door, hoping he would return soon.

Raven had quite the thanks to give to someone.

**TT**


	4. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom

**A/N**: Just for reference, I will sneak a song quote in each of the chapters that I feel goes along with the theme and title of the chapter. The song lyric will be from the title of the chapter (the title of the song). If I could make sense...

**Disclaimer**: Teen Titans So not mine.

**TT**

**The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage**

Raven had the dream again. Except this time she was first driving. She had a vision of a street sign reading 'Lilac Lane' and of her in a convertible with Beast Boy. It was night; all was quiet except for the pounding sound of Panic! At the Disco in the CD changer. Her mind was hazy, but she was wearing the amulet and willingly laughing and smiling as if she were enjoying herself. His right arm was draped over the passenger seat head rest, as if he were trying to look as if his arm were around her. His left hand was placed firmly on the wheel, and every few minutes he would steal satisfied glances towards her. But, he was not Beast Boy. He was wearing his rings, and he was tan with sun-bleached hair, but the same shocking emerald eyes instead of his natural soft blue.

"Shake it up, Beast Boy," her voice, happy and careless, broke the sound.

"_Swear to shake it up, if you swear to listen_," he whispered to her just as he turned up the music and the sounds of her favorite band rang over the radio's stereo system.

"_Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen, oh we're still so young and desperate for attention. I aim to be your eyes. Trophy Boys, Trophy Wives_!"

Then there was a great CRASH and without even seeing what happened the car was submerged and it suddenly had a roof to it. Raven looked to the left to see Beast Boy's life fading fast. With her last bit of life she leaned over and kissed him meaningfully, before his eyes slid closed and he sunk to the car's floor. Raven let unconsciousness take her as well, before she shot awake, gasping for breath.

"Robin!" Raven screamed. "Robin! ROBIN!" She need not bother get up; he would hear her and come running. Within seconds he was sliding into her room, only in his work-out clothing, Starfire and Cyborg by his sides.

"What is the matter?" Starfire asked in her naive tone.

"Robin! Call the police. Tell them to meet us at the Riverside at Lilac Lane with one of their most powerful cranes. I've had...a feeling. The three of you: be ready down at the T-Car in five minutes, Cyborg get it running!" She ordered, and while doing so jumped out of bed and grabbed items of clothing to change into.

The three knew not to argue or ask questions until Raven was proved right; once in a blue moon was Raven ever wrong with one of her 'feelings'. The three evaded her doorway and she quickly slipped off her current uniform and slipped a clean one on. She threw her cloak over her shoulders and drew up her hood. "Let's pray to Azar that this isn't what I think this is," she murmured under her breath, raking her hand through her hair to make it fall delicately back into her face.

Raven left her room after grabbing a few necessities and met with Starfire, who was dressed and ready. Starfire flew alongside her best friend, who had a stony expression set into her features as she watched the hallway extend in front of her. "Raven, may I pry?" the gentle alien girl asked in an intimidated manner.

"I'll explain everything soon, Starfire," Raven assured her, and Starfire fell to flying close behind her, thinking.

The two girls arrived in the garage and saw the T-Car was already running. Robin was sitting in his self-proclaimed seat in the back. Starfire slid in next to him, and Raven took her place in the front passenger seat. Cyborg silently pulled out of the garage and began at full-throttle down the bridge that would lead them to the main streets. "Raven, what's up?' he asked quietly, as if afraid to disturb the silence.

"I told you, I had a feeling. Well, more of an vision. I saw Beast Boy drowning in the lake off of Lilac Lane. I know it may not be right, but I have to make sure. I mean, it all fits. Of course his communicator would go dead if it touched water, his cell phone too, the G.P.S. system would fizzle out if exposed to water as well, and that's why the police haven't seen the car. The car's submerged in the lake," Raven explained, fidgeting with her hands.

"Don't you think you could be wrong for once?" Robin asked, not trying to offend her but at the same time trying not to assume the worst.

"I hope so. I've been wrong only once or twice before, with all the visions I've had. I'm scared." Cyborg reached over and comfortingly took her hand in his. Oh, the big brother was always there when you needed him.

"It'll be ok, Raven," he told her with a semi-reassuring smile.

She was not at all calmed.

TT

It seemed like forever until they were finally at the Riverside, a few police cars scattered here and there and the crane set up. A few large, damp objects were lined up by the shoreline, and the crane was currently in the process of digging something else out. The four present Titans went to the police chief to talk, watching as he barked orders to his fellow coppers.

"Found anything yet?" Robin asked in his painfully serious tone. Raven was currently standing between Cyborg and Starfire. Starfire had an arm around her shoulders, and Cyborg had a hand on her shoulder blade, caressing it softly to calm her. She was hysterical, but would not show it for the life of her.

"No, I'm afraid to say we haven't. Say, what proof did you say you had?" the chief policeman asked, tipping his hat slightly. Raven broke the grasps of her teammates to step forward towards the riverside edge, watching with watering eyes as the crane jiggled loose what it had caught and slowly began pulling it up.

"Raven had a vision. We trust her; she doesn't bullshit with this kind of thing," Robin told him. "Excuse my French."

"Excused," the man coughed stiffly.

Raven sighed in relief as all they had pulled up was an old rusty anchor that had probably unhooked from some ship that passed by. The crane dropped it among the pile of discarded junk and began digging again. The Titans began conversing, without Raven, about her current emotional state. She did not take her eyes off of the crane's rope, and tears, though they threatened, did not spill from her eyes.

"She is worried, we all are," Starfire defended as the others tried to state she was overreacting.

"But Beast Boy is too much of a good driver to go and run off of a riverside into a River. Anyways, he can turn into water-breathing creatures. He couldn't drown. And even if he could, I'm sure he'd be able to get out," Cyborg reasoned. "I'm sure her imagination is just overreacting."

Starfire chewed her lip thoughtfully. "It'll be ok, Star," Robin reassured.

"I am sure," she responded, detached. Starfire walked over to Raven and stood beside her, rubbing her own arms. "You are the OK, Raven?" She asked innocently, watching her as her crimson hair hung over her face and slightly obscured her vision.

"You wouldn't be ok if you saw what I saw, Star. We'll put it that way," she responded in a monotone. "It was just something so extremely frightening, the dream I had. If it came true..." Raven trailed off.

"I understand," Starfire replied, stepping back to continue conversing with her other teammates. "She is very the depressed," Starfire commented to them. "She seems to truly believe her dream was real."

"We can't let her. She has to shake this, even if it-" Cyborg gulped "-is true."

Starfire sank to her rear on the grass, beneath a large Juniper tree that was currently in blossom. Robin sank next to her as Cyborg went off to talk to the police chief once more. Starfire sighed as she watched Raven's lonely silhouette. Her hand was nervously scratching her opposite elbow and one knee was leaning into the other. "She looks lonely," Starfire whispered, the wind blowing her hair in front of her face.

The crane began pulling upwards once more. Raven perked up, but it was revealed to only be an old, old tire. Robin rubbed his face with his hands, blinking a few times, before looking at her as well. "It's just because Beast Boy is gone. She won't admit, but she had a soft spot for the little green runt." Robin looked away. "He probably just went away for a little while; probably just decided to take a little vacation without notifying us first. I'm sure it's not that big of a deal." But Robin didn't believe his own words.

"Perhaps," Starfire replied monotonously, as well unconvinced.

They sat in silence for twenty more minutes as the crane moved and tried different areas of the river. Starfire and Robin soon stood to walk over towards Raven stand just behind her to either side. She did not look back, but she could tell they were there. "Hello," she began stiffly.

"Hello, my dear friend Raven," Starfire greeted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey Raven," Robin greeted after Starfire elbowed him. Raven smirked at her attempts, but besides that did nothing. "You ok?"

Raven sighed. If he did not realize there was something wrong by now, then he was utterly and completely clueless about the opposite gender, just as she expected. She inwardly snorted at his cluelessness, as she heard him grunt, supposing Starfire had elbowed him again.

The crane slowly began pulling upwards once more. It stopped a few times, groaning under immense pressure, tipping as if it were going to fall over at any minute. Finally, it managed to snake something free and slowly began pulling upwards again. Raven teetered on tip-toes to get a better look at what it was pulling up.

The water broke with one large ripple and a scratched and rusted silver edge broke the surface. Raven's eyes widened as it pulled up farther to reveal broken and scratched glass. It was fully hovering above the water by only about two inches now, and they could easily identify it as the once drive-able back-up T-Car.

And they could easily identify the pale tinted green arm hanging out the slightly cracked window, with the gleaming holographic ring on the middle finger. A dark silhouette of a head was leaning against the window.

Raven gasped and tears sprang to her eyes again. "Beast Boy!" She screamed, pain in her voice. "Beast Boy!" Her voice cracked as she turned and collapsed into the first solid thing in front of her, which happened to be Robin. "No!" she cried into his chest. He awkwardly patted her back, while managing to hold her up. Raven had lost all feeling and could not possibly hold her own body weight up. "Beast Boy!" she wailed, and Starfire immediately flew over to envelope both of them in a hug, for Robin had begun to cry too, tears seeping out the thin white cloth of his mask.

"BB," Robin mumbled, turning his head to Starfire to rest his head on her collarbone and cry softly. She patted the back of his head, kissing the crown tenderly.

"Oh dear friend," Starfire breathed, beginning to cry herself. And it was not long before Cyborg had traveled over and joined the group hug, tears leaking from his human eye. Starfire's head had shifted so her head was now on Robin's shoulder, one arm around his back with her hand on his opposite shoulder, the other arm around Raven's waist. Robin had his hand on Raven's shoulder blade, with his other arm squeezing Starfire tight to him, subconsciously afraid to lose her as well.

"It is ok, Robin," she whispered. "Cry all you want. It does not make you weak." Cyborg didn't even know who he had his arms around, but merely joined in to comfort his emotionally scarred friends. As well, it was to gain some comfort himself.

**TT**

I know what you think...I'm evil. But I remind you this is BBRAE for a reason, people!


	5. Build God, Then We'll Talk

**A/N**: Here are the songs corresponding with each of the chapters so far, in case you were wondering.

**Chapter 1**: Crossing the Frame by Coheed and Cambria

**Chapter 2**: Chasing Daydreams by Shades Apart

**Chapter 3**: Collapsed by Aly and AJ

**Chapter 4**: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage by Panic! At the Disco

**Chapter 5**: Build God, Then We'll Talk by Panic! At the Disco

A lot of the songs themed with chapters will probably end up being Panic! At the Disco

**Disclaimer**: I wish the Teen Titans were mine. Alas, they are not.

**TT**

**Build God, Then We'll Talk**

It was a long while until three of the four friends calmed down. Starfire was left to comfort Raven (as ordered by Robin) while he and Cyborg went to talk to one of the Paramedics and the Police Chief. Since none of them were up to it at first, they would eventually have to go to the morgue to identify the body (although not many people had green skin, it was a precaution), after the Coroner was finished. Raven voiced that she wasn't sure if she was ready, so they might have to go without her. Robin understood exactly what she meant, and couldn't help but notice she had been very attached to Beast Boy. He knew she liked him, as a friend, but he never knew there could possibly be something romantic to it.

Starfire hugged Raven close, looking out towards Robin and Cyborg, who were down by the Riverside. "It will be ok," she whispered softly, though she knew there was no meaning to it. Things would not be ok, and that scared Raven. Normalcy, or as normal as they could be being teen super heroes, was something she desperately relied upon. Without that, life as she knew it would collapse.

"It won't," Raven cried in response. "It just won't, Star."

Starfire sighed, patting her back as she continued to sniffle lightly. Never had Raven shed a tear, let alone bawled like this. It was unnerving to see someone so stolid breaking down like this. "I know. I am merely attempting to calm you. Raven, to see you crying is like...seeing three-thousand Glorkas do the dance of Rexeras. Most depressing."

Raven smiled slightly through her tears. "Thanks...I think."

Starfire smiled in return and hugged her again, rocking her slightly. It was something her mother did when she cried as a young child, and she found it very soothing. Hopefully Raven would think the same. "Raven?" Starfire questioned softly. Raven nodded to let her continue. "Did you love him?" she asked in such a straightforward manner that Raven was slightly taken aback. She was silent for a few minutes, and Starfire pushed her back and held her shoulders. "Did you not hear me? I said-"

"I heard you," Raven croaked. "I-No," she stated, then began to think. "Yes. Wait, no. I mean, I don't know." Raven sighed, looking down to her feet, sniffing, and then breaking out in tears again. "That's what's making this so confusing!" she cried, her hands reaching up to run through her hair and grip the roots in frustration. "He was one of the best guy friends I could have, even if I didn't show it. He was nice, caring, a great person, and slightly funny though I would never admit it. I don't know...after he matured things were-" Raven paused "-different."

"How so?" Starfire asked, her arms dropping from her shoulders to cross over her chest. Starfire hunched her shoulders and sniffed slightly, having ceased her crying only about five minutes ago. She stared inquisitively at Raven as she gathered her thoughts.

"Not only did I realize how increasingly attractive he had become, I also began to realize the little things that set him apart from others. Remember when he had that kitten a few months back–and he named it Raven because he said it reminded him of me? I thought that was just the sweetest thing, apart from the fact that he absolutely adored the kitten." Raven walked past Starfire and sat down against the trunk of the large tree she and Robin had previously been under.

Starfire followed suit and sat next to her, watching as she did a small 'tweet tweet tweet' to call a small Raven down from one of the branches and stroke it's beautiful black feathers softly. "You may continue," Starfire requested, wondering if there was more to continue.

Raven sighed, continuing to stroke the small animal. "It showed me how extremely sensitive and caring he was. He never went anywhere without the little girl in his arms, and always was so extremely compassionate. Like he was its mother." Raven chuckled sadly while reminiscing. "And now I won't ever see him again!" The young bird took it's cue and flew off her finger, landing on her opposite shoulder as Raven leaned into Starfire to begin crying again.

"Yes, you will see him," Starfire assured. "That I am positive of. Death is not a 'Goodbye'. It is merely a 'See you later'."

Though her English was not perfect, Raven understood her meaning. "Thank you," she whispered softly. "For being here for me." Starfire patted her back and whispered softly that she would always be here, even if Beast Boy was not. They were friends forever, and Raven did nothing to protest to this statement.

"Hey there," Robin started softly as he came over and sat down next to Starfire, his cape falling over most of his body. He reached over and stroked the small onyx raven. "How you holding up, Raven?" he asked.

"I'm doing just fine," she muttered darkly.

Robin sighed, watching her head on Starfire's shoulder. Starfire turned as soon as he sighed and look up at him. She was frustrated not being able to see his emotions, since his eyes were masked by a stupid little piece of black and white cloth. She had given up trying long ago. Instead of pondering this any further, she leaned over and rested her own head on his shoulder. Robin's arm reached around her shoulder and stroked her hair.

About twenty minutes into the silence Cyborg came over and announced to them all that they would have to travel across town to get to the morgue, to identify the body and talk with the coroner about the cause of his death. Raven was nearly sent into another fit of sobs but held back and merely closed her eyes and willed the tears away. She was still wearing the amulet, or else everything there might just explode. And grasping at the amulet only made her think of Beast Boy more.

"You ready, Rae?" Cyborg asked, holding his mechanical hand out to her. She nodded and used his hand to help herself up, her legs still feeling like jelly. She wasn't sure if she was quite ready to hold her body weight after a shock like the one she had just so rudely received. Cyborg held his hand at the small of her back, ready to act fast if her knees were to buckle.

"Thanks," she mumbled softly, as Robin appeared next to her cradling Starfire.

"She fell asleep," he whispered. "I didn't want to wake her. She, and you, Raven, have been through enough today." And so has Robin, but he was trying to be strong for his teammates. As well as Cyborg; the boys felt as if they were real men and real men didn't let things like this bother them. But Raven understood they too were in pain. Robin lost his friend and training buddy. Cyborg lost his best friend and video game opponent. Beast Boy was more than the youngest, joking, tofu-loving, green teammate. He was a piece of the puzzle, and without him they would always be incomplete.

Just thinking of all this made Raven's knees buckle, as expected by Cyborg, and he caught her. She thanked him as he helped steady her, and she began walking again towards the T-Car. Raven just kept having horrible flashbacks to the moment where she saw the car dangling from the crane above the water, his arm sticking out the window, and she cried out in pain.

"It's ok, Rae," Cyborg whispered. And somehow this pained her as well; only Beast Boy had ever called her Rae. The small jet-black Raven began following them, flapping his small wings, until he reached them and rested himself on Raven's shoulder. "He's watching over us now."

And how true this was.

**TT**

Raven was sitting in the front seat of the car as the others ventured into the morgue. She felt bad; even Starfire could take it, but for some reason she couldn't. Was it because she was in love with him? No, couldn't be. She was just squeamish, and did not like the scent of formaldehyde.

Raven stroked the baby bird that had stood by her side since the moment she first called him down from his branch. She knew she would let him go eventually, but for now it could not hurt to have some company, human or not. "Hello there little birdie," she started, stroking him. "I think I'll name you Garfield. Return the favor to him." She looked up towards the sky.

The bird tweeted its approval for the new name.

"Have you ever lost a friend, young one?" Raven asked, looking at him compassionately. "I am sure you have,. Maybe even a loved one. But that's the problem. I don't know if I loved him or not. I am sure I did, but how could I? I had always seen Beast Boy as annoying and small and green, but everything changed." Raven sighed.

The young bird tweeted in a low note, which sounded much like a tone of depression.

"I know, young birdie," Raven cooed. "I wish you knew him. He was one of the most wonderful guys I ever met, though I'd never admit it if anyone asked me. I had a thing for him the whole long while he was a Teen Titan, but was too stupid to say something. Look where that got me, eh?"

Again, the bird tweeted, as if in response.

"You are a very talkative young fellow, Garfield," Raven commented. "You remind me of him." She sighed, something she had gotten into the habit of doing a lot since his disappearance. "And no, it's not just the name."

Suddenly the door to the driver's side of the car opened, and Cyborg slid inside. Robin and Starfire slid into the backseat and all was silent except for the chirping of the young Raven. "That place gave me the shivers," Robin finally announced. "I hate the smell of formaldehyde and just thinking of the decomposing bodies inside those little sliders." Robin gave a terrible involuntary shudder.

Raven twitched.

"It was most unnerving," Starfire sniffed. It was obvious she had started crying upon seeing Beast Boy's body.

"So, what happened?" Raven dared to ask. "How did he die?"

"Well, the coroner explained that he drowned. He was wearing his holographic rings, and since he can't use his powers, we deduced he wasn't able to transform into a fish. We actually found that he scratched off the skin of his middle finger trying to get both the rings off, but he only managed to get one. He tried to roll down the window, but the control broke and it stopped halfway so he wasn't able to squeeze through." Cyborg sighed in the middle of his explanation. "It was very unnerving," Cyborg agreed with Starfire. "To see his happy and joking face just laying there, no expression, his eyes closed. It was like he was sleeping but...we knew better."

Cyborg rested his half-metal head on the wheel and took a deep breath, before rising it once more and starting up the car. "We'll have to go home and plan the funeral," Cyborg told them as he pulled out of the driveway as fast as he could. When he didn't hear a response he looked into the rear-view mirror to see Robin and Starfire had their hands clasped and Starfire's hand was on his shoulder, her other hand resting on his opposite shoulder.

He decided to leave them be. He turned for a quick second while the stoplight was red to see Raven leaning her head against the window, the small bird pulled up in her line of sight, while she absently stroked it. "_There are no raindrops on roses or girls in white dresses_," she sang softly to the bird, so softly that no one else in the car could hear. "_It's sleeping with roaches and taking best guesses_."

The bird chirped four times, an exuberant chirp, as if he liked Raven's singing.

"You like my singing?" she asked the small bird. "Well, you're the second. Only you and Beast Boy, but I'm sure he only said that to butter me up. My singing isn't all that good."

The bird chirped his disagreement.

"Why thank you, young one," Raven replied, smiling just so tiny that it was barely noticeable.

Raven fell again into silence, staring out the window and stroking Garfield's feathers. Cyborg couldn't help but hope that things would soon restore some sense of normalcy, even though he knew that wouldn't happen. Raven loved Beast Boy, no matter how much she would want to deny it, and things would never be normal for her again.

**TT**


	6. Saying Sorry

**A/N**: hmmm. none really. I don't know why I bother anymore. Song is by Hawthorne Heights

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Teen Titans or Hawthorne Heights. I wish I did. Lead singer is sexy. Cannot form coherent sentences. Hottttttttt.

**TT**

**Saying Sorry**

It had been a week. A long, terrible, almost unbearable week without him. The Tower was quiet; no video games were played, no movies were seen, no tofu was cooked. Not a thing that could possibly remind them of him went on. Raven locked herself in her room and when it came to battle only Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin went and fought twice as hard to make up for the loss of two teammates. They never failed, yet it only made the battle harder.

The funeral was tomorrow. Raven had prepared a eulogy, all in her head. She had been thinking of it all the hours she spent in her bed, and finally thought of the perfect thing to say. She knew she would make him proud. He taught her to just live, so she would just have to spread the word of his teachings.

It was nighttime by now. Maybe ten or eleven. Raven was lying on her bed, her eyes wide, staring up at the ceiling. She was currently listening to a conversation going on outside her door. It was Robin and Starfire, and they were having a small argument.

"Robin! Do not disturb Raven! I know she has not been in battle lately, but she has a perfectly acceptable reason! She loved him!" Starfire whispered in a harsh tone, not wishing to disturb Raven though they already had.

Robin paused for a second. "Be that as it may, she can't just mope around this Tower like that! It's unhealthy! She has to get out, she has to make sure she doesn't fall into a depression. I can't lose another member of my team, Star!" he countered.

"She is a human being and has the right to 'mope' or do as she wishes! Do not disturb her!" Starfire told him with a tone like ice. Raven could imagine him wincing, for she had never used a tone as harsh as that before.

"I know she has the right to mope, but it's been a whole week. She hasn't come out for a whole week! God knows if she slept or ate, or even went to the bathroom during that time! She needs to stay healthy, and eat and sleep like a normal person!" he retorted. "Come on, Star! Even you have to admit this is getting kinda crazy."

"Robin, it is the one she loved!" Starfire cried hysterically, and Raven could imagine Robin coming closer to her to envelope her in a hug. "No!" she cried, and Raven assumed she had pushed him away. "Think, Robin," she requested. "What if it had been me? What would you have done?"

There was silence for a few seconds, except for the hysterical sobs of Starfire. "Don't even make me think about that," he whispered, his voice shaking. There was a small squeal and Raven knew at that moment Starfire had collapsed into his arms. "Don't even make me think of that possibility. I love you, Star. I have no idea what I would do with myself if that ever happened."

"I love you, too, Richard."

_So, his real name is Richard._

Raven listened to the soft sounds of their joint crying, until it eventually faded away, along with Robin's soft footsteps. She must've fallen asleep, or something of the like. Raven sighed. True love was something very beautiful, another thing she would never admit out loud. She rolled over on her bed and listened to her stomach grumble unmercifully. She was terribly hungry but didn't feel like getting up to go eat. Instead she stayed in her bed and buried her face deep into her pillow, stifling tears that refused to stop.

Garfield, her young Raven, was now a part of her. He would come in and out through her window, but he would always return. She would take care of him, and he would return the favor with his company. He was out now, and he had been for a few hours, except for once when he dipped in for some water and a little bird seed, about an hour ago. The young bird would usually stay by her side as she cried, but now she had no one.

Except for the hand that was now comfortingly stroking her hair as she wept into her pillow. It felt so good she didn't bother to look up until she heard his voice whisper, "Rae? Rae?". Now, thoroughly confused, she looked up into emerald eyes she had been missing terribly.

And, sitting there, was Garfield Logan, AKA Beast Boy. "Beast Boy!" Raven gasped, flinging herself forward into his arms to embrace him tight. "Oh, Beast Boy! I knew it was all a cruel joke! I knew you weren't dead I just knew it! Oh Azar!" Raven pulled back, tears of happiness in her eyes. "It was all just a joke, wasn't it?"

He hesitated, biting his lip. "I'm sorry, Rae. It wasn't. I'm...gone."

Raven laughed. "That's not possible. C'mon Beast Boy, stop playing. You're right here in front of me."

"I know, Rae, but it's true. I'm dead. I'm just a...ghost," he looked down to his lap where he was fiddling with his fingers. "I'm so sorry, I don't want to leave you. I just...I heard everything you said, and I wanted you to know that I love you, I really do. And I don't love you like I love Starfire, and Robin, and Cyborg. I really love you." He sighed, reaching forward to place his lips on hers. "I truly do."

Raven fell into him and rested her head on his chest, crying again. "No, it's not fair! It's all my fault! If I didn't remind you to wear those stupid rings you would've been able to transform and you would've been ok!"

"No, don't blame yourself," he stated in a dangerously serious tone."Don't ever blame yourself. It's my fault. I wasn't in full control and I just careened off the side of the road. If I was actually thinking for once in my life-" he stopped himself short. "You know, in those last moments of my life, I was thinking of you."

Raven didn't say anything.

"I was thinking about how you'd react, how I would be leaving you. If you would care, or if you would just go on as if nothing happened. I was thinking about my new life..." he paused and stiffened. "...in the afterlife." He was silent for a few moments. "I'm so sorry." _I have to do this_. He reached down and kissed the crown of her head. "Just always remember that I love you."

"I-I-" she stuttered, and took a deep breath, finally ready to admit it to herself and to him. "I love you too."

Beast Boy smiled through tears beginning to pool in his emerald green eyes. "Rae...Rae-Face..." he chuckled softly at the use of the nickname she abhorred. "...I have to go. I can only be here for a little while. I barely got permission to be here for a few minutes."

"No," she begged. "Please, stay here with me. Just for a little while. Don't leave, not yet." Raven pulled away and laid her body down on the bed, looking up at him with her pleading violet eyes. He smiled softly. He could never say no to her. So, in turn, he crawled next to her, his back to the window, as he faced her, watching her thin lips curve into a smile. "Thank you."

"No. Thank you," he replied, leaning his head forward to touch her lips softly with his. They were liplocked for a few more minutes, neither willing to move much, until they broke apart, breathing slightly ragged. Raven intertwined their hands and her eyes flutter closed as he chanced moving his body a little closer to hers, until he could feel her body heat radiating from her form. He kissed her forehead gently and smiled to himself, wondering how he ever deserved someone as great as her.

Especially with all the bad things he had done.

It was only a few minutes until she fell asleep, and again he began to silently weep. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her, playing with her fingers as their hands were still intertwined. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done, all I've caused. I'm so sorry for leaving you. I'm so sorry for lying. _Seeing you cry, makes me feel like saying sorry_."

And soon, he had cried himself to sleep as well.

**TT**

"Raven? Raven?" a soft voice cooed. Raven smiled in her half-asleep.

"Oh, Beast Boy, you're still here," Raven sighed happily, snuggling closer to her pillow and trying to edge closer to his body heat without bothering to open her eyes. "I just couldn't bear it if you left me in the middle of the night."

"Raven, I think you're dreaming," a voice whispered. "You overslept, it's time for the funeral."

Raven's eyes snapped open and she looked up into the mask of Robin. "No," she told him. That's not possible. "Beast Boy was here with me last night; he told me he was a ghost but he was here and he slept with me. He told me he loved me! Imagine it! He loved ME!" she exclaimed. "It was absolutely amazing."

"Raven, I think you were dreaming," Robin told her, watching her from behind his mask, though she could tell he thought she was off her rocker. "Now, come on, you have to get ready for the funeral and make sure you're ready for your eulogy."

Raven groaned. "Ok," she whispered back to him, her voice cracking. Maybe it had all been a dream. That moment, Garfield flew in through the window and landed himself upon the perch Raven had set out for him, and began nibbling at his bird seed. "Thanks."

Robin nodded and immediately started out of her room to finish getting ready himself. Raven slid her long legs out of the bed first, and immediately began shaking from the cold. It had been warm when she fell asleep the night prior in shorts. Raven wandered to her vanity (which didn't get much use, mind you) to find a small note with a single glittering red rose upon it. In a neatly lined yet messily written scrawl, the note read:

_Saying goodbye, __this time, __the same old story. __Seeing you cry m__akes me feel like s__aying sorry._

_With all my heart._

And she knew it was from him. With a small, hopeful smile, Raven tucked the rose into an empty vase and set the note in front of it.

Raven had showered the previous evening, so her hair was tied back into a ponytail and had dried in waves. She pulled out the ponytail, to let it fully dry (because it hadn't yet), and then walked towards her closet to pull her dress off of it's hanger and slip it over her body. It was a black tube dress that puffed slightly around the knees, and had a sewn-on jacket that cut off at her elbows. It was the only black dress she had that was appropriate for such an occasion, and she did NOT feel like going out to purchase a new one.

Raven straightened her hair with a straight iron, to look presentable and then situated a small, stiff, black hat with a fishnet overhang on the top of her head. She piled on black eyeliner and black eyeshadow, and a dark lipstick that she had only used once before; Halloween.

She looked herself over in the mirror for a few seconds, before there was a timid knock at her door. "Raven, are you ready?" came the innocent voice of her only female teammate, Starfire. Raven sighed; fiddling with her look was not helping the situation any. No matter how she looked at it, this was Beast Boy's funeral she was getting ready for. The small Raven by the name of Garfield flew over and perched himself on her shoulder, her little accessory for the day. Raven knew he wouldn't leave her.

"What do you say, Garfield? You ready?" Raven asked, blowing air out of the corner of her lip to try and rid her vision of a stray lock of violet. The bird tweeted in response and Raven half-smiled. It was so tiny, though, you could barely notice it. "That's good enough for me. Let's go."

**TT**

It was crowded, that was to say the least. Fans, fellow super-heros, friends, even the Doom Patrol were all there to see their good friend off into the afterlife. Immediately when they arrived, Raven walked up to the front to the open casket. Raven braced herself and looked to the small Raven on her shoulder, before taking a deep breath and turning her head to face him.

He looked peaceful. That was the first thing Raven noticed. His face was a pale green, and his eyes were obviously closed. His emerald green hair that fell almost to his shoulders was slicked back and gelled a little. He was in a black suit, but with an emerald green shirt and an emerald green silk tie. Raven hesitated at first but then reached out and softly touched his cheek. His skin was cold and clammy. It was sad that she expected he be warm, like he always was, and just jump up and say that they had all been punk'd or something. But they hadn't. This was real, and Raven would have to deal.

"I love you," she whispered, pulling his favorite stuffed animal, a small puppy she had gotten for him a few years back, from her pocket and placing it inside the casket. She knew that he slept with it every night, and only recently did she realize it might've been because it was a gift from her. "Don't forget that."

And she knew he wouldn't.

Raven quickly leaned down and pecked his lips, though she would get no response from him, and the tears began to flow again. As soon as she found love, it needed to be ripped so cruelly away from her. What was the world coming to? She hadn't done anything wrong! She hadn't disrupted her own karma!

Raven continued to cry as Starfire came over, took her by the shoulders, and guided her towards her seat as the ceremony began. "It will all be ok soon," Starfire whispered in her ear. "I promise." They closed the casket, since the wake had already been a day before (but Raven hadn't had enough energy to go), and the Priest began the service.

Raven barely listened. She leaned her head into Starfire's shoulder the whole time, as Cyborg patted her back comfortingly, and Robin on the other side would reach around Starfire's shoulder to squeeze hers while holding Starfire's hand. "And now I am aware that we have a few eulogies to be performed by the deceased's friends."

"Rave, you go on first," Robin told her. "I'm sure that will lift all our spirits."

Raven sniffed and stood from her spot in the front row, starting slowly towards where the priest stood, taking his spot as he stood stolidly next to her. "Do you have a sheet you will be reading off of?" the priest asked curiously. Raven, unable to find her voice, shook her head. The priest nodded in understanding. "You may begin."

Raven sighed into the microphone that was set up so she could be heard in the very back of the large church. "Hello," she started blandly with a deep breath. "Most of you know me as Raven, of the Teen Titans. I am the dark Titan, the unsocial Titan. I am the one with a very small amount of friends. But one f the good friends I did have was Garfield." Raven held out her finger to the little bird on her shoulder and let him hop on, before setting him on the edge of the stand. "I was so close to him, in fact, I named my baby bird and new friend Garfield, in his honor."

Raven took a pause and heard shuffling within the crowd. "When I was younger, say sixteen, I never thought much of Garfield. He was the small, annoying, green Titan with the weird sense of humor. I tended to avoid him in fear of becoming the next victim to his lame jokes." There was silence. "Oh come on, people, all of you have done it. Don't look like you don't know what I'm talking about."

This brought a small arousal of agreement. "But, in the past few months, I've been noticing Garfield in a different manner. His humor matured, as well as him. I've noticed that he has a caring side, a compassionate side, a fierce side, a loveable side. He's determined to fight for what he thinks is right. He has so many good qualities I could go on for days." Raven chuckled sadly. "And only too late did I realize that I loved him."

There was a slight arousal again, as the crowd began to murmur. "Now it's out. I loved him. I can admit it to myself, and my only regret is not admitting it to him while he was...alive." Raven looked away to gather herself. "But, that was only a brief background to enforce what I'm about to say next. The most important thing I have learned from Garfield, in my four years of knowing the green ex-Doom Patrol member, is one lesson he taught me but two weeks ago.

"Just live," Raven whispered into the microphone and she swore no one heard her. "That's right. Just live. I can remember the night vividly. He was keeping me up with all the different emotions he was emitting, and I eventually just followed him up to the living room. We talked for a good long while, until he told me he was going for a drive." Raven choked back a sob as her young Raven tweeted, encouraging her to go on. "He walked over to me, kissed me right smack on the lips-and, imagine, I didn't protest-and then told me to just live. I now understand what he meant. If I had just lived, I would've admitted my feelings long before this. My life would be so much different if I had learned that lesson from him before then. Maybe he would be alive.

"But I'm not here to talk about his death. I'm here to talk about him. The great person he is. How amazingly poetic and intelligent he can be sometimes. I'm here to say that Garfield Reese Logan is one of the most wonderful people I will ever meet. I'm here to say, this one goes out to the man that taught me 'Don't Forget to Live'. Thank you." Garfield hopped onto her shoulder and Raven quickly took her seat as the Church roared with approval.

"That was great," Robin told her. "Good job, Raven."

"It was most amazing," Starfire agreed, wiping tears from her eyes. "I knew you loved him."

And Raven smiled while her young companion chirped softly.

**TT**


	7. I Miss You

**A/N**: AHHH. I hate school. It can go die. Because that is why you no longer get frequent updates from me.

**Disclaimer**: The Teen Titans are not, norare Blink-182, mine.

**TT**

**I Miss You**

It had been a month. The situation never got better. The pain never let up. It really only got worse from there. But Beast Boy had told her to live her life, to go on, and to forget the pain his death had caused. Raven wasn't sure if she could do that, but still she had to try, for him. Often she would fiddle with the necklace around her neck and drift off, thinking about him, and she would start crying all over again. She had gotten better; she wasn't too emotional about it now, but being able to feel emotion had an effect on her. She was a very emotional person when she was allowed to be.

It was early morning. It was a slightly warm day, but there was a chilly breeze that made it seem colder than it actually was. She had a bundle in her arms, and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation of the wind against her exposed skin. It had been a slow month of crime; Red X struck numerous times, but nothing huge. He had robbed a few jewelry stores and a few gas stations (imagine, Red X, stooping to gas stations!), but besides that nothing important.

Raven made a graceful swoop down over a deserted patch of land, with only a single monument for a whole ten square feet. Raven landed on her knees and set the bundle in her arms down. The bundle happened to be a bouquet of twelve crimson red roses. And the monument in front of her just happened to be his gravestone.

"Hello there," she started, in a somewhat jubilant tone. "It's been a while since I've been here." She slid from her knees and into a lotus position. "Ah, three days. It sure has been a while. I've been a little busy...Red X has been attacking a lot lately, but besides that I've just been caught up in my own thing. And little Garfield has been demanding more attention from me."

As if on cue, the little bird swooped down from a tree nearby and landed on Raven's shoulder. It didn't surprise her that he knew where to find her; he often traveled with her when she came to visit Beast Boy. The little bird chirped happily, his wings fluttering as he switched from her shoulder to the tombstone in front of them.

"Hello Garfield," Raven started, softly stroking the young bird's feathers with the back of her hand as he chirped softly, tweeting his agreement. "Yes, I must be a serious loser because I named my little bird after you. Can we say stalker? Not sure if you can stalk the dead, but anyways..." Raven trailed off, leaning back and using her palms on the ground the hold herself up. It was as if she was actually having a conversation with him. "I miss the little things about you. I've just recently realized that. How you used to come into a room and just brighten everything up. Well, Starfire did that too, but you managed to do that in another way."

She sighed and looked away from the tombstones, the words bringing tears to her dry eyes. "Maybe I'm just rambling. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe I'm just crazy and no one can understand poor, old, delusional Raven. Whatever. It's not like I ever cared what anyone thought about me, so why start now?"

The wind seemed to whisper as she let it travel through her violet locks and blow her hair off her shoulders, behind her in gentle waves. She closed her eyes and let the sensation invade her senses. The silence (all but the wind whipping against her ears) was broken by Garfield chirping madly. Raven let the chirping go on for a few minutes until it suddenly stopped. There was the rustling of wings and Raven knew he had flown away, probably back to the tower to eat.

Raven opened her eyes when she heard a different rustling, that was most definitely not wings. She whipped around to see an old man hunched over, hobbling slowly toward her, a wooden cane in hand with a large emerald jewel in the handle at the top. He set his cane on the ground and took a seat a little way away from Raven.

"Hello?" Raven started awkwardly.

"Hello," the man responded back curtly, but in a warm and kind voice. Raven looked him over quickly; he had long gray-silver hair and a beard of the same color, but his face was youthful. There were fairly few wrinkles. Actually, none that Raven could see of his profile. "You are a young friend of Garfield?" the man asked.

"Yea," Raven replied, still staring at him strangely. "May I ask...who are you?"

"I am Willard Delgado. I am a good friend o' the young lad. I 'ad been out of town for the past mont' an' a 'alf an' come 'ome to 'ear my fa'rite green teenager 'as pass'd on. I's very a-disturbed. Why do the good die young?" The man asked suddenly, in an odd accent Raven could not determine.

"I don't know," Raven replied in a whisper, looking back to the tombstone reading 'Garfield Reese Logan'. "I really couldn't tell you. If I had any luck whatsoever, all of this never would have happened and he'd still be with me."

The old man smiled and turned to Raven, revealing a deep, deep scar on the left side of his face, that ran from his eye to the tip of his chin. His eye on the left side was opened only a crack compared to the other.

Raven did not react. "I like you. Mos' people shy away." He pointed to the scar. "They do not accept me for my deformation."

"Humans today don't accept outcasts," Raven stated.

"I 'ear that," the man responded with a slight chuckle. "O', dear boy." There was a slight silence as they just sat there, both watching the tombstones with saddened eyes. "You loved 'im, di'n't you?" the man asked out of the blue.

"I did," she replied, unafraid to admit it.

"'E loved you too. 'E did, God bless 'im."

Raven dared not to ask how the man even knew who she was. "You miss 'im, don'tcha?"

"I do," Raven affirmed. The man grunted.

"Was a good lad," the man started up again. "Good lad, good lad. Got in a bi' o' trouble sometimes, bu' 'e was good." The man fiddled with the end of his beard, coughing slightly through their awkward silence. He then pulled a single white rose from inside his green corduroy overcoat, left it on the plot, and tipped his hat to Raven. She returned this gesture with a small smile.

And then she turned back to the tombstone. "So where were we?" she asked the tombstone, unaware that the man was crouching behind a nearby Juniper tree, listening to her every word. "Oh, I remember...wait, no I don't." She chuckled to herself. "Sorry, I've tended to lose myself a lot more often. I'll just end with this; don't forget I love you. I've had so much heartbreak in my life, I think it's time to just let loose. Just...start going to dance clubs, and just making out with random guys like you see those girls on TV doing. No attachments, no harm, right?" Raven laughed. "Like I could ever pull that off. But still, you said to live, and I'll never know if I don't try."

The old man behind the Juniper Tree almost laughed himself. Raven, a gigolo? Well, in female form. Actually, the word does derive from female meaning, so I guess she could... The old man shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself here.

"You know I'd be awesome at it, admit it. With my powerful seduction techniques," she stated, and it was hard not to hear the sarcasm in her voice. She was still a very cynical person. "Well, it's always a thought. Of course, I need to be eighteen to get into a club, but that shouldn't be much problem." She smirked. "I have my ways." She sighed and rested her chin in her palm. "Sounds like a plan."

"_Will you come home, and stop this pain tonight?_ That's the one thing that keeps repeating in my head since your death. The one single song lyric. Because, I keep wondering, will you come home and stop this pain tonight? This pain I'm feeling. I just want this to all be a cruel joke, and you to be alive. I wouldn't be mad if it was one of your stupid pranks because it showed me how much I care about you. I just...I want you back, Gar."

Raven stood and brushed herself off. "It was nice talking to you again. I like coming here. Almost like you are...alive." Raven sighed. "Oh, by the way, happy birthday."

She began walking. It was only twenty minutes before she reached the most popular part of town. It was the boardwalk; it had stores, restaurants, an amusement park, a large stage for bands to perform, and many other things. Raven constantly came here, just to walk around and look, or maybe go on a roller coaster or two. Sometimes she would go to the beach and dip her feet into the cool water. In fact, she looked down to the beach and saw quite a few people surfing even though it was most definitely not the warmest day of the year.

She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her dark denim jeans (that actually hugged her curves quite gracefully, the only pair of jeans she had that did so; all the rest were baggy) and continued walking. It was a very diverse day. Many different people had come down to the Boardwalk this fine Saturday to join in the festivities. She could've swore she saw Robin and Starfire on the top of the Ferris Wheel kissing, but that was probably just her imagination.

With her hands fiddling with the wad of bills in her pocket, she continued on. She had purposely saved up a lot of money for the past few weeks to get some new clothes; it was something she was looking forward to.

Raven first came to stop in front of a stall that was kind-of a small store with the front cut open and an overhang shading a part with tables piled with the clothes. The clothes were all pretty much dark and very well organized, which was something Raven liked. She fingered through a rack of black shirts with snappy lines on them, then moved on towards a rack of jeans hanging towards the back of the store.

Ten minutes later, she came out with a black and blue bag in hand, very happy with her purchase. It was as she was walking along the street once more that she heard a petrified scream. "Help! HELP! I'VE BEEN ROBBED!"

"SHIT!" Someone cursed, and Raven looked ahead to see Red X, who had (oddly enough) dropped the purse he had been holding and then started sprinting.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," Raven hissed quickly to open up a portal to her room and stuff her bag inside it so she would not have to run with it and immediately began flying after him. "You get back here!" she roared at him, her finger pointing in an accusatorial manner towards the black and red clad adversary. He looked back quick and then started running faster, before hooking into an alleyway. No one bothered to look twice.

Wow, people sure were helpful these days.

Raven flew sharply into the same alleyway and set her feet on the ground, looking about cautiously. Red X had disappeared from sight, but not from mind. She could still feel his presence there, and he was close. She tip-toed forward, looking about wildly, not wanting to miss a single pin drop. She strained her ears to try and hear him, but all she heard was the hum of the people in the street.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Raven started in a sing-song voice, testing her so-called 'seduction' skills. Maybe she could seduce him out of his hiding place. She inwardly snorted. Yeah, right. "Come on, Red X, you don't want to spend all day hiding. I can stay here until you come out, you know. I'm a very patient person."

A few seconds pass.

"Oh come ON!"

There was a slight rustle and a garbage can was knocked over in the distance. Raven barely had time to whip around before she was pressed against a brick wall, one hand gently on her arm, and a body pressed up against hers.

"What the---AZARATH METRION-"

But she was cut off as a hand was pressed against her mouth and her words were rudely interrupted with "Do you want everyone out on the boardwalk to think your getting raped? God, this is what I do for wanting to meet a girl!".

"Capturing her and pressing your body in inappropriate ways against hers is no way to meet or in any way flatter a woman!" she retorted once his hand had come off of hers. "AZARATH METRION-" she said fast and tried to get out before he could react, but his hand was again over hers. "I hate you," she mumbled against his hand. It was garbled, but he got the gist.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

He cautiously took his hand off of her mouth, and she shot a dirty glare in his direction. "I won't try to kill you, but answer me some questions, will ya?" she spat towards him, just realizing that his face was about three inches away and his soft breath was fanning over her. It smelt very comforting, like peppermint and vanilla. "What, pray tell, are you doing?"

"I just wanted to meet you," he whispered innocently, knowing the effect his breath had on her. Goose-bumps formed across the exposed skin (exposed from her off-the-shoulder black top). "You're a very intriguing girl," he whispered, his voice sounding funny due to the built-in voice-changer in his suit. "Dark and Mysterious. I see why the Beast liked ya."

"Don't ever refer to Beast Boy as 'The Beast'," Raven snarled.

"Sorry," he responded, sounding truly sorry. "My mouth goes faster than my brain. Should've known not to make that comment after...y'know..." Raven was shocked. Red X actually cared about her feelings? Creepy.

"Er...it's ok. Just don't let it happen again," she responded awkwardly. She was still a little off-guard.

"But I do think you're interesting," he told her seriously, his face coming closer, if possible, to hers. Raven was painfully aware of the fact that his lips (if not masked) would be only centimeters from hers. "I want to get to know you a little better. S'that a crime?" his voice was husky now...almost sexy. If he weren't Red X, Raven would jump him out of lust.

"That's great," she replied as droll as she could.

"You don't care, do you?" he asked, his head cocked to the left.

"Not particularly."

"Oh well," he breathed, pulling up part of his mask to gently place his lips to hers, his hands cupping her face. Raven was surprised and was about to push him away, before he drew back and replaced his mask so it was snug on his face. "I'll be seeing ya around, sweetie," he started cynically, and she could tell he was smirking.

He jumped into the air and disappeared, and Raven stood there for a long while more, wondering if what she had just been a part of was real or not.

**TT**


	8. Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of

**A/N**: ahh the song in this chapter isn't too great, but I needed a bridge between the last chapter and this chapter. Because what happens at the end of the next chapter needs a little more explaining before it happens. Please don't flame if it sucks because I've been working hard, even though lacrosse season started and I have no time. And, if any of you know the song 'Grillz', I definitely think one of my chapters will be dedicated to that song because I am in love with that song. haha.

**Dislcaimer**: I don't own Teen Titans or Fall Out Boy. kthx.

**TT**

**Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued**

Raven dressed in the jeans she had bought earlier that morning and a tight black corset top she had previously bought. It was a little risque for her modest type of dress, but she couldn't go to a club and wear her modest clothing. It was a club, after all. And most people there would be dressed three-thousand times more skanky than something even Starfire would wear! (No offense to Starfire, but if it were legal to walk around naked, Raven sure believed she would do so. Modest clothing was NOT something she enjoyed.)

Raven was a little nervous. Really, the only reason she was doing this was to try and forget about the death that recently plagued her team. She was doing this to unwind and perhaps have a little fun for once in her life. After all, with the gift that Beast Boy had left her, she was finally able to do so. It was no way to repay him by not using it to her advantage.

Raven clasped the gem that was centered perfectly on her breast bone. "Thank you," she whispered towards the sky, fiddling with it and running her fingers over the cold and smooth gem. "You're the reason I can feel. I thank you for that."

And she could almost hear his response of, "you're welcome". Raven smiled to herself, pulled on a pair of black boots (tucking the ends of her jeans inside), and then checked her reflection. She looked decent enough. Then she combed her hair and ruffled it to tease it out slightly, smacking her lips while doing so. She was ready.

Raven crept to the door so no one would hear the sound of her heels clicking on the floor. It didn't occur to her that she could fly. "Robin!" she called down the hall where he was in his bedroom. He replied with a muffled voice that Raven assumed was her invitation to continue. "I'm going to be sleeping! Don't disturb me and make sure the other Titans don't disturb me!" she called, proud of herself with her ability to lie.

"M'kay!" he called back.

It finally occurred to Raven that she could fly. After slapping herself upside the head she flew silently over to her window, opened it up, and flew out. It took much difficulty toclose it from the outside, and again her powers occurred to her and she hit herself upside the head once more. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she whispered and closed with a soft click.

Raven did a mental checklist as she flew towards downtown. She had made sure to turn off all of her lights, and put pillows under her covers to mimic her body in case one of the Titans decided to check up on her. She had been sure to do everything that had needed doing. She sighed in relief, her heart still beating quite fast. If she were caught in the act, Robin would probably put her under house arrest for God knows how long, but she was almost sure she would not be caught. She had taken all precautions, and even had her communicator with her just in case. Of course it was offline, but she took it to check in every now in then, should something happen.

But those odds were a million to one.

"Calm down, Raven," she told herself as she spotted the brightly lit club, its sign flashing with a name Raven could not determine. It was a club Blackfire had told them about when she had first visited the Titans, and Raven had remembered it after all these years.

She landed down in an alleyway, as not to be seen (she had her own custom ring made by Cyborg that changed her skin into a light tan-olive, her eyes into a soft Caribbean blue, and her hair into an electric black. For some reason, while the Titan men wore two, one on each middle finger, she and Starfire only had to wear one on her thumb, which seemed like an ordinary thumb ring.

Raven raked her fingers through her hair, which was soft, silky, and straight as ever (she had done it up especially for her first club outing; normally she didn't give a rat's ass) and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

TT

Raven made it past security by taking one of the security men aside and explaining who she was, and producing her Titan Identification Card and taking off her ring for a quick moment. The man, named Mack, a tall and broad black man that reminded her a lot of Cyborg (with his attitude and tone of voice), accepted her in with a smile. She leaned up on tip-toes to kiss his cheek and thank him profusely, before trotting inside. She had promised herself earlier only one person would know about her true identity, and that would be the bouncer. He would have to know to let her in. Besides that, she was undercover.

Raven led herself down a hallway, dark and dank, with couples scattered across it, a few talking, a few making out, and a few doing God knows what.

She could still turn back now.

Too late. She entered a large room with a DJ on turn tables to the right, coupled with a large dance floor, and a bar to the left with tables scattered. A few were sitting at the bar, but most were on the dance floor, obviously, dancing.

Raven immediately took to a table and waited for a few minutes, before a man came up to her. He was about 5' 11" and had a gaunt yet fairly handsome face with brown eyes and soft russet hair. "Hey there," he started, taking a seat next to her, turning it around, and straddling the back of it while facing her. "You new here?"

"How could ya tell?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Never seen you around here before. I know everyone who comes here. You're the first noob in quite a while," he told her, smirking softly. "And quite a pretty noob, should I say so myself. I'm Doug." He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Rachael," she stated, sticking out her own had and shaking his. "Can you introduce me to some people around here?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed jubilantly. Doug stood and took her hand, leading her into the wild throng of young people dancing on the floor. "You're gonna love the people here," he told her. "So nice and just great people."

"_It's just past eight and I'm feeling young and reckless_," Raven told him with the small smile still on her face. "I'm sure I'll love them."

The two stopped in front of the throng and Doug released her hand. Five people dancing in a close pack all turned to look at her and smiled. "Hey," they all said, though it varied from person to person so Raven really couldn't make it out.

"Guys, this is Rachael. She's new here, so show her some love," Doug started, his hand moving to her shoulder, his touch light and sensitive.

A blonde girl pushed her way to the front of the crowd and smiled bright, showing off a set of pearly whites. Her eyes were a powerful hazel and bored into you. "I'm Alexa," she greeted, coming forward to envelope her a hug. "You can call me Aly. That's what everyone calls me."

"Or cutie-pie," a man with dark brown almost onyx hair stated, coming towards the front so Raven could look up at him. Way up. He had to be 6' 6" or something close! "I'm Ryan." He hugged her. "Rach, eh? You'll get used to it here. Came in here for a drink once and came back every night afterwards."

Raven chuckled slightly. "I'm sure I will. But for now I just want to fit in. That's not really my thing, if you get what I mean."

"Yea, I get it," a girl with russet curls, loose yet bouncy, and studious black glasses that framed her face and made her look intelligent, yet attractive. "I used to be like that-bookworm, studious, and geek, pretty much. Then Ryan got me to come here and I've pretty much let loose ever since. I'm Tyra," she greeted, shaking her hand.

Two more people, one a girl and one a guy, both greeted themselves as Tammy and Dan, respectively. Doug invited 'Rachael' to dance with them, and after a little while she sort-of got the hang of it and began her awkward dancing. It was half and hour before she retired from her dancing (which had really gotten much better) to sit in her original seat. She told Doug and his friends (who she had been talking with, getting to know), that she was going to take a little break and then come back.

Raven was downing a bottle of water when a hot and slightly sweaty Doug came over, and collapsed in the chair next to her. "Hey Rae," he started, apparently comfortable with nicknaming her even though he just met her. "What's cracking?"

"Just a little winded. I've never danced in a crowd like that for thirty minutes straight," she told him with a smirk, taking another swig of her water. "Never knew that dancing these days got so...sexual," she told him.

"Neither did I until I actually started going to clubs," he told her. "You get used to it, trust me."

"I'll try," she responded.

There was a slight silence. You know, except for the pulsing music in the joint, and the loud and obnoxious chatter. "Can I have a sip?" he asked, motioning to the bottle of water in her hand. It took Raven a while (and she had to look down to see what he was motioning to) to realize what he was talking about.

"Oh yeah, sure," she replied, handing him the water bottle and watching as he drained a quarter of it's contents.

"Thanks," he replied breathlessly, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. "Wanna get back out there?"

Raven half-smiled towards him. "Sure." He placed the water bottle on the table next to her purse and took her hand to lead her back out near his friends. He laughed as she tried to get back into the rhythm, and placed his hands on her hips to help her rotate her hips and get the correct rhythm. Raven laughed at her own attempts to dance, being a complete idiot in said area of expertise.

"Just feel the rhythm," he told her, and after a few minutes she had FINALLY gotten the rhythm. He smiled in success. "Another woman I have taught to dance successfully. Most times, though, it ends with me sleeping with the woman."

Raven only laughed.

Then, there was a slight arousal of excitement from a crowd near them, and Raven looked over to see a man and a woman busting out into a dance, doing their own thing, but surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

And boy, was the man handsome.

"Who's that?" Raven asked, entranced by his emerald green eyes that shone even in the slight distance between them.

"Hah, don't even think about it, Rach," he told her as they continued to dance in close proximity, Raven rotating her hips into his. "That's Keith. He's the most seductive guy you'll ever meet. He can seduce a girl and sleep with her in ten minutes flat, including time it takes to get from her to his apartment, fifteen minutes away."

"Damn," Raven breathed, but she knew in her mind she was probably still going to try. She couldn't deny there was something mysterious about him.

"Yea, so stay off. Don't want you getting hurt, Rae," he told her.

"You seem to care a lot about someone you've just met," she stated suspiciously.

"Everyone here is like family. Even the noobs. Don't think it's just you," he told her. "And you're a pretty outgoing girl. How can someone not feel close to someone like you?"

Wow. If the Titans ever heard that, they'd flip. Not to mention they'd kill Raven if they ever found out that she was here in the first place. She blatantly lied to go party with people she didn't even know. It really sounded bad when you took it out of context.

"Rae?" he asked.

"Yea?" she responded, tearing her head away from the man dancing close to the slutty girl in the low cut denim skirt and the belly-exposing tight pink top.

"Promise me you won't go after him. We have a nickname around here for him: sixty-second seducer. Not too great, but you get the point," he stated.

"Yea, I get it. But I'm not making any promises."

**TT**


	9. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have

**A/N**: Don't hate me. I thought this chapter was good, but some people might think it isn't because of the ending. I swear there's a reason why Raven does what she does at the end. You'll just need to wait to find out why. Please bear with me. I hope you all like it.

**Disclaimer**: Teen Titans are the new black. And sadly, I own neither. (Oh, and of course I don't own Panic! (who this chapter's song is by) But I wish I did because the lead singer is SEXY!)

**TT (By the way, notice how the title of the chapter fits so well with the content)**

**Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Pants Off**

Raven took a ten-minute breather with Doug and another water. Doug took it upon himself to criticize her choice of drink, but Raven merely ignored him, though laughing lightheartedly along. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun with a single person that wasn't green. It was a nice change from moping around because of his death. Raven sighed softly as it crossed her mind again, but she attempted to push it out. Tonight was her night. He wanted her to have fun. That's what she would do.

"You want to dance again?" Doug asked her, his hand outstretched as he stood.

Raven bit her lip. She wanted to rest a few minutes, but...

A new song started. A song Raven vaguely knew as a rap song that Robin very much liked. She constantly heard it blasting from his mp3 player (yea, imagine that, Robin has an mp3 player). Either way, Raven was not fond of this particular song.

But she was fond of the attractive male coming her way.

Wait, what?

She did a double-take and saw the man she had been practically idolizing coming her way. Her eyes bugged but she promised herself she wouldn't let him see that and unconsciously straightened out her clothes and her hair. His eyes glinted in the fluorescent light and he had a casual smirk upon his face as he approached her, one of his slender hands outstretched.

Raven observed him more closely. He was a very attractive man, there was no doubt of that. He had a long and gaunt face with attractive dimples that reminded her of Gar's. His hair was a dark brown, almost onyx, falling in front of his eyes in locks, slightly damp from his sweat. His eyes were an amazing hue of emerald that Raven had only seen once before, and they glinted with mischievousness. His lips formed into perfect words as he asked, "Would you like to dance?".

Raven's eyebrows shot up and she accepted almost immediately, jumping up from her seat to take his hand and be led out onto the dance floor.

Raven hid a small smile as they took a place in the center, surrounded by a whole mass of people, dancing close to the provocative music. His arm snaked around her waist and he pressed against the small of her back to bring them closer, so his pelvic bone was grinding into hers. Her eyes widened slightly but she got the gist of it.

She looked over her shoulder to see Doug staring at her disapprovingly.

Raven shrugged to him and turned back to her partner to look up into those amazing green eyes. They really were an intense hue of jade that she had never seen before outside of the Tower's walls. It was like...

Raven inwardly tutted, before seductively wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "So what's your name?" she whispered into his ear, her breath forming goose bumps on the side of his face.

"...Keith," he replied, his voice more high and immature then his appearance would suggest. "What's yours?"

"Rachel," she purred with a slight smirk. So this is what tragedy had done to her; it had turned her into an over-confident player.

Imagine if Gar were here, Raven told herself. If he saw what you were doing.

Raven looked back up into Keith's eyes and squinted because of the fluorescent light coming from the DJ table behind him. She smirked as she realized he was staring intently at her, as if trying to figure out where he had seen her before. Raven was sure at least one person in this room recognized her facial features, but didn't make anything of it. For the most part, she should be safe, as long as her ring didn't come off. "You look like you're trying to think." She emphasized 'trying'.

"Har, Har," he replied with mock haughtiness. "You are just Hee-larious."

"I know," she responded with a genuine smile. She pulled herself closer to him and circled her hips against his in tune to the provocative music.

"As long as you know it," he sighed then smiled.It was a few moments, as the music continued to play and they continued to dance, before either said anything. "Where did you learn to dance like that?" he asked as she dipped low and brought her body back up to match his stance.

"Some things you're just born with," she remarked, shrugging with a playful smirk. "And some things you just make up as you go."

"I'm guessing you're just making this up as you go?" he asked knowingly.

"Bingo."

They continued to dance well after the song had morphed into a faster and equally upbeat one. Each move he produced Raven would match, and each move Raven produced Keith would match with his great display of dance techniques. It was well over an hour before they both began to feel tired and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Let's go somewhere more quiet".

He took her hand and Raven snatched up her bag, and he led her out the back door into a dark alley. He led her down the dark alley with their hands still intertwined, until they came out onto the main street lined with shops, restaurants, bars, and stores. Raven's eyes lit up as she saw a side of the city she had never seen before. She never knew it could look so...innocent.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked, his hand inconspicuously dropping from her and sliding around her waist to hold her close to him.

"Well, I live on the other side of town, but I don't get out much," she told him, which technically wasn't a lie. She really didn't get out much, and she never saw the nightlife such as this. Who knew there was a whole other wild and fun side to her city?

"You should. Jump City is great at night. And you meet the coolest a people. We really don't have any rapist creeps around here so you don't have to worry." He smiled down at her, his flawless pearly whites marred only by two fang-like teeth on either side of his mouth. (A/N: don't think what I think you're thinking. BB only had one.) They reminded her vaguely of-

-NO! Stop thinking about him! He's gone and he's never coming back! Get that through your head!

That was the whole reason she was out here, anyways. To try and have fun for once in her life, like he encouraged her to. Did it seem like she was going against him by doing this? She looked slightly to the velvet midnight sky, stars twinkling innocently. I'm sorry, she whispered inwardly, trying to hold back tears.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, genuinely concerned. His hand fell from her waist and the pair stopped. He reached up to wipe the glistening tear from the crease of her eye.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking away. "It's just...I recently lost a good friend, and the boy I loved, and you remind me so much of him. It kinda hurts."

He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I know what you mean. About a month and a half back I lost the most wonderful girl in the world. She was...amazing. Beautiful, and smart, funny, and she was my best friend."

They continued to walk as Keith looked down to the ground and sighed. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose her?"

"A car accident," he stated, and she didn't press any further.

She was about to comment that was how she lost Garfield too, but advised herself against it. Instead, she stayed silent, shuffling closer to Keith. It was a cool night and she didn't have any sort of jacket. She shivered noticeably.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Very," she responded.

He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm about her shoulder, pulling her closer to his warmth. She felt safe and wanted in his arms, a feeling she hadn't felt in almost two months. And somehow, she was comforted by this.

He led her into the busiest part of town, an urban yet very picturesque small city scene. The lights were strung and the little shops were lit up, and foliage covered parts of the sidewalks. Little trees over hung, casting shadows on some parts of the walk, and just above them the full moon shone with a beauty unimaginable.

Keith pointed to an expensive-looking complex of flats up ahead, two story each with its own entrance and garage. "I live there," he told her. "But I was thinking maybe we could just keep walking and talking...you know, taking in the Jump City scene."

Raven chuckled. "Sure."

They continued to walk and talked about everything under the sun. Raven eventually asked how old he really was, and he told her he was almost 19. She told him she was just past 18. They talked about their interests in music and movies, what TV shows they liked, what they did for fun, their hopes, their dreams, and everything else they could think of to keep the conversation going. Raven learned he was basically her polar opposite, but he was perfect. He was nice, and funny, and caring. He explained how he loved animals and how he volunteered at an animal shelter downtown on a daily basis. His biggest dream is to either become a veterinarian or run his own animal shelter. Keith explained how he was the biggest party animal you would ever meet, but he did have a soft side.

Raven couldn't help but notice he was indeed perfect. Everything she looked for in a guy.

And she couldn't help herself when they stopped, having walked back and forth and now in front of his living complex again, to lean in on her tiptoes and gently brush her lips against his. But that wasn't all. The chaste brush of lips became a fierce, passionate kiss, and Raven couldn't fight the feeling that this had to be the work of some sort of love potion because she never fell so fast. The only time she had fell so fast was for a charmer, for Malchior.

But this man was no Malchior.

"Keith," Raven murmured as she pulled away and rested her head against his collarbone. She was regaining her breath.

"Rae," he started.

Why did everyone have a thing for calling her Rae?

"Come on," she started softly, taking his hand and quickly pulling him across the near-empty street to the complex within which he lived. He guided her to his, number Thirteen, and easily pushed open the unlocked door. They began kissing once more and she shut the door with her foot, hearing it click softly. She was too caught in the moment to let her reasonable side tell her this was wrong on so many levels. Keith bent and scooped her up, their lips still locked, and guided her into the home through his labyrinth of hallways. He deftly pushed open a closed door and shut it closed behind him, the darkness swallowing them both.

And then they fell onto the soft cushion of his mattress.

_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster._

**TT**


	10. Heaven Forbid

**A/N**: I know I haven't been updating frequently, but, as I said before, lacrosse season has started and if I have hopes of making Varsity this year (which is my freshman year), I have to work hard. I know I'm close, because I began as playing on the freshman team, then I moved up to JV, and today I started the JV game so its just about time that I make Varisty. Yippee! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: Neither Teen Titans nor the Fray is of my creation. Only this story plot (which, I promise, will get better) is mine.

**TT**

**Heaven Forbid**

Raven groaned and rolled over. There was way too much light coming in from her bedroom window. It was way too late for her to be just waking up.

Wait a minute.

Her bedroom window faced the west. The sun rises in the east. So, theoretically, she shouldn't be seeing this much sunlight. Raven cautiously reached her hand out and felt the naked (save for boxers, thank Azar) body next to her, and she bolted awake. Her torso shot up and she looked aorund, seeing the greens and blues that decorated HIS bedroom. HIS bedroom; not HERS. HIS.

Oh, Raven was in deep shit.

She fell back down and rested her head in the pillow. And last night came back to her. And, oh, how amazing it had been, but how deep in trouble she was. She turned her head to see the alarm clock, which read 12:16.

SHIT!

Oh, not good. Training started at one. Raven needed to get to the tower, and she needed to get to the tower now! She jumped up and searched for her clothes, pulling on her jeans and desperately searching for her top. After about five minutes of unsuccessful searching, she hastily grabbed Keith's white button-up from the previous night, buttoned up three buttons, and grabbed all of her things.

"Mm...Rachel?" his voice came, tired yet exuberant.

Raven froze. "Keith?"

She turned and saw him sitting up, looking at her strangely. "Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" he pouted.

"Never," she responded, walking over to kiss his forehead tenderly. "But I'm going to be in such deep shit if I don't get home right now. Don't ask why, but I just need to get home." Raven gathered her stuff again and looked back to smile genuinely at him. "Thanks for everything."

"How will I reach you?" he asked.

Raven froze again, on her way out the door. "I-I don't know." In all truth, she never thought she'd be in this situation. The only line of communication she had that was totally private was her communicator. They wouldn't know if Keith called but she just couldn't give out the number. And she couldn't have him call the tower. And she couldn't give out her e-mail either.

Maybe a double-life would require a new cell-phone. I mean, it's not like the Titans would know about it. "Look, I'll be at the club tonight. I'll find you, ok?" she asked.

"Ok," he replied, smiling shakily. Seeing this, Raven dropped her stuff on his bed and cantered over, kissing his smack on the lips, leaving him lingering with her taste. "I'll see you tonight?"

"That you will," she replied, gathering her stuff and walking out of his bedroom, down the hallway, and out the door. She walked into an alleyway, stuffed her things into a portal to her room, and then followed it. She landed on the floor of her room, on her rear, looking up at Robin and Starfire.

"Uh...I can explain," Raven started nervously, tugging at the half-buttoned men's shirt hanging about her torso.

"This better be pretty damn good," Robin growled, his arms crossed over his chest, which was devoid of his spandex. Put in its place was a plain grey cotton shirt, part of his training outfit.

After a few minutes of pathetic sputtering, Raven sighed in defeat. "I lied. I can't explain."

Robin raised a single eyebrow and Starfire stood by his side, biting her lip. "Is it not obvious?" she started almost at once, glaring at Raven, her signal to follow along. "Raven left early this morning to take flowers to take flowers to the grave of young...Garfield." Starfire had to pause. She still got choked up when talking about it. "That is why the flowers normally by her bedside are gone."

Raven looked to her bed stand. They were there yesterday. Starfire turned, being sure to face her back to Raven while inspecting Robin, and Raven could see the flowers in her hands.

I LOVE YOU, STAR!

"Is that true?" Robin asked, an eyebrow cocked and not believing the story one little bit. Raven nodded feebly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to tell anyone," was her meager response.

Robin nodded to himself. In all truth he didn't believe anything that either of them said, but this wasn't the time to go prying into Raven's life. He'd just have to keep a close eye on her for the next few days. "Um...ok then. Training's in twenty minutes. You better get ready." Robin pivoted and started out, and the door shut softly. Starfire watched Raven intently until Raven decided to speak up.

"I know that looked bad, but I swear I didn't do anything wrong." Except do a guy you barely know.

"If you do not wish to tell me, I shall not press the matter," Starfire stated in her tone that clearly said 'I understand'.

"I promise I'll tell you," Raven started before she had a chance to walk out. "Some day. It's just, with everything that's happened to me, I can't right now. You wouldn't accept it."

Starfire nodded, and then swept silently from the room, without another word. Raven sighed in relief, clamored up, and fell onto her bed. It would be nice to be able to sleep in her own bed for once, because as ashamed as she was, she often spent nights in Beast Boy's room.

But, the fates would have none of it at the moment, for the alarm rang soundly throughout the tower.

**TT**

It was reported as Red X. Surprise, surprise. Did Raven really expect anyone else?

Raven flew next to Starfire while Cyborg was down below in the T-Car and Robin rode on his motorcycle. Raven felt empty without the incessant squawk of the forest green hawk behind her. Things would never be the same.

Raven sighed and continued her flight, as the pack took a sharp left into the parking lot of a jewelry store in downtown Jump City. Keith's apartment was just a block away, Raven knew, from their walk the previous night.

People were running from the building, cowering behind cars, and protecting their children or loved ones. There was a sudden blast in an alleyway near the jewelry store, and the four Titans all winced. "Raven, you go check the blast out, we'll handle Red X!" Robin ordered her. Raven sighed. Of course she would be taking that job.

"I'm on it," she replied, flying up and taking a sharp turn into a dark alleyway. "Great, send Raven into the dark alleyway where she can get raped," she mumbled under her breath, her shoes padding softly as she landed on the ground. Raven inspected the cement where there was a black scorch mark. She stood above it, looking down, her brow furrowed in confusion. What in the world-?

And she was attacked by the side, just as another BLAST sounded, and she landed against a wall, her back in great pain, and another form upon her. She opened her eyes to see the masked face of Red X in front of her. She heard his heavy panting and his mask-eyes were wide.

"GET DOWN!" He screamed, and he pulled her to the ground, leaving her wrist in pain with the immense force. Another blast sounded and she heard a bullet whizz by just above them. Red X grabbed her wrist and pulled her up with a great strength, to see a completely black-covered figure in front of them. And his gun was pointed right at them. He pulled the trigger but nothing happened, and it was revealed he was out of bullets.

"Stand back!" Red X ordered, his forearm pushing her back. Raven stood and watched as he ran forward and jump-kicked him right in the face, causing him to stumble but retaliate faster. He roundhouse kicked, punched, then jumped kicked and brought Red X to the ground. He tried to get up, but his body fell back down and the black figure was about to give one more blow (to, no doubt, knock him out), but Raven would have none of it.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She screamed. "AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"

She sent a ferocious black wave of energy his way but he was able to dissolve it in an inhumanly way. He merely stuck out his hands and the magic refracted around him and disappeared. Raven's eyes widened as he started forward and began punching and kicking mercilessly, as she tried her best to keep up by shooting wave after wave of energy at him. Soon, she felt herself losing steam and he threw her against the brick wall of the alleyway, and she slumped to the ground.

He pulled her up by her cloak and made sure she stood before he brought long, sharp nails down across her face and made her face sting and soon go numb. She clapped her hand to her face and stumbled back against the wall, and then in a tizzy fell forward. Raven tried to break her fall but her wrist landed in an awkward position and she heard a sickening snap. Her face was completely numb.

There was poison in his nails.

Raven cried in terrible pain and her blurry vision half-focused on the black and red lump near her. Red X was still out, and by the way this black figure was stalking towards her he had plans to take her out as well. He took her by the ankle and she pleaded for mercy, but he swung her against the adjacent brick wall and she knew she would be fading soon. The blackness began to cloud her vision, and she could feel warm, sticky liquid trickling down her scalp.

He lifted up his leg and his foot was coming straight for her face, and she knew this was it. But suddenly a black and red figure attacked him from the side and the two fell to the ground. Red X was straddling the figure's waist, delivering punch after punch, until he was an inch within consciousness.

Red X stood and brushed himself off, looking to Raven. She could feel herself fading fast. He hurried towards her and kneeled down, his hand sliding behind her neck, making her neck stickier than it was before. She blinked stupidly and his form became hazy. He brushed back locks of her hair, and the last thing she heard was,

"_Hold on tight, wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright_."

**TT**


	11. Wait

**A/N**: I know I haven't updated frewuently, but like I said, it's Lacrosse season once more. Wish me luck on my game tomorrow!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Teen Titans or Death Cab for Cutie (WHO ROCKS!)

**TT**

**Wait**

Raven groaned and woke from a very restful sleep. Her whole body ached and she felt as if she had been hit by a truck. In fact, she probably had been, the way each and every single part of her body was encompassed with a stabbing pain. Without even yet opening her eyes she tried to sit up, but hissed in pain and found she could not. Instead, she turned on her side, and tried to go back to sleep.

She found she couldn't and instead slowly let her eyes blink open. But she was snapped to alertness when she realized she was not in her dark room in Titans' Tower. She was in a lavishly decorated green and white room, with a humongous bed smack in the center, its sheets engulfing her entirely.

"Um?" she asked herself aloud, trying again to sit up, but again failing. Her back was a like a million little pinpricks, each stabbing when she moved a millimeter. Then, a body moved into the open doorway and leaned against it, hands stuffed in their pockets.

Raven squinted at sunlight coming through the window in the room behind him. The man in front of her had very light, sandy blonde hair and olive skin, with amazing baby blue eyes, shining bright. He had dimples in his face and a scar running along the right side of his face, deep, but not crippling in any form. In fact, Raven wouldn't have noticed it if his shaggy hair wasn't tucked behind his ears. It was on the very far right, and stopped just below the temple and right above the jaw line. This man looked very familiar. He seemed friendly, so Raven wasn't immediately alert, and if she was in this large comfortable bed and all wrapped up she wasn't too ready to fight. She was fine just here.

"Hello," he started dully.

"Who are you?" she asked, ignoring formalities.

"X. Red X," he began in that incredibly sexy voice we all know and love.

"Why am I here?" he asked, her breath quickening.

"I couldn't leave you there to die, Raven. I just..." He started forward and sat on the edge of the bed, his body turned in and his knee resting on the mattress. "...I could never do that, enemy or not."

"Thank you," she started. She tried to sit up and he could see she was struggling, so he stood and supported her back with his strong and capable hands until she was leaning against the headboard. "Why am I in so much pain?" she asked, although about three million other questions were more important at the moment.

"You got beat pretty bad. I won't lie; I was scared you wouldn't live," he sighed softly, looking away so his magnificent blue eyes were now shining with sunlight.

"Why are you so worried about me? Don't you have your own life to worry about?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow in questioning. He turned to her with a soft smile and shrugged his broad yet angular shoulders.

"Not really...I have no life..." He smirked. "So I chose yours to be worried about."

Now, Raven couldn't tell why, but his face began to look familiar.

"I'm flattered," she returned, resting her bandage wrist over her chest, making a mock action of flustering. Raven pulled the covers farther up around her after shivering, and continued through her slightly chattering teeth. "How long have I been in...this...place," she ended rather articulately.

He stood and walked towards a thermostat on the far side of the room and turned it up a few degrees. "You've been here for a few days. You've been out could since you passed out in the alley. That's why I was worried. I contacted your team as an ally and told them you were ok but I couldn't release your location for security reasons, and I'd have you home as soon as you woke up."

"A few days?" Raven asked incredulously, feeling her heart rate pumping. _Oh no! Keith!_

"Five at the most, I haven't kept track. I've been by your side since the moment I patched you up, and really haven't noticed anything else." Raven didn't know why, but she began to blush a light rose.

"Thanks." Raven lifted her arm and inspected the bandages. He took a seat on the bed, leaning up against the headboard next to her, his arms folded on his abdomen. "So what are the extent of my injuries?" she asked.

"I had to take the poison from your body. I have the antidote for everything here in my hideout, and it was a fairly common poison. It made you physically weak and weakened a bit of your immune system, but with rest it should repair itself in a few days. You have numerous scars and bruises that I couldn't even begin to count, and I spent half a day arguing with myself whether to invade your privacy and-well-change you. It was either live with my conscience or let you soak in your own bodily fluids. Conscience or not, I couldn't leave you in those torn and bloody clothes," he explained, looking away.

Raven blushed. "Er--thanks."

"No problem." He looked back at her, blinking twice, before taking a deep breath. "Besides that, you had a sprained ankle and you snapped your wrist. You had head injuries, but not too bad. Just a little bump that will cause a migraine if it's touched. Make sure you sleep with your head on the side at night so you don't irritate it. Also, you had a broken rib, but it healed itself quickly. I was actually pretty impressed."

"Yea, most of my bones can heal themselves because of my abilities. That's why I slept so long. In order for them to heal themselves, my powers need at least a day's rest," she explained. He nodded in understanding.

"Oh, where are my manners?" He stood and began out the room, and in a few minutes' time he was back with a tray in hand, something steaming upon it. "I made you dinner."

Raven grinned and her stomach growled loudly. "I love you!" she began as she stared hungrily at the food, letting him at least place it down before she began wolfing it all. He even made her green tea! "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, but since there was food in her mouth it sounded like,

"Fank oo tho muftch".

He chuckled lightly. "It was no problem. I made some for myself and there were leftovers. Soon after that you woke up. It worked out."

Raven smiled after one huge swallow. "You are amazing."

"I know," he responded jokingly. "No need to say it."

She took three large gulps of her tea and drained it, setting the tray aside and patting her stomach in contentment. "That was the best meal I've had in ages."

"I can tell. You look like you're wasting away," he told her.

"Well, you know, Beast Boy's death was hard on us all. I just...never really felt like eating after that. I felt like it was so horrible that I still had the privilege of eating and breathing while he didn't. I miss him, you know?" she started, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of a long-sleeve gray shirt, probably one of his.

"I can tell." There was a silence. "Did you love him?"

Now this wasn't an awfully personal question. (Sarcasm., people!)

"I think I did," Raven responded, unsure of whether she should be telling her worst enemy (besides Slade) such personal information.

Red X smiled softly. "I'm sure he loved you too. He's one lucky man."

Raven's smile fell as she understood the underlying meaning in that statement. She fiddled with the covers and looked away, barely whispering, "I suppose he was". Eager to change the subject, Raven looked back up to him. "So what's your name?" she asked.

"...Gabe," he responded after hesitating a few seconds. "I've never told anyone my name. At least, anyone who knew who I was. I have too much suspicion in the world around me to give out personal information like that."

"Gabe?" she asked, letting the name sting her tongue, foreign.

"Short for Gabriel," he told her. "But don't call me that. Only my best friend calls me that because she thinks its fun to be mean to me."

Raven smiled. "I like the name. Gabe. It sounds manly."

"Because I'm a manly man," he told her, winking with a pearly white smile. The scar on the far side of his face crinkled. Raven chuckled lightheartedly. Was she really having a civil conversation with Red X? Was this really him? Was it all just a cruel joke, and she was imagining his sense of humor, his wit, and his caring nature?

Raven tried to swing her legs around to get off of the bed and Gabe immediately came over and took her arm to help her. She set her feet slowly on the ground and put more pressure on her uninjured leg, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. She tried to put weight on her injured foot, but her knees buckled, and Gabe swiftly caught her and set her upright once more. She was on one foot, using him as her crutch, as she placed light pressure on her leg and tried to walk. She got a slight limp, and he slowly walked with her, as she began feeling less and less pain. It was healing itself as she walked. The only thing that would not heal itself was her wrist, for she would not have enough energy after her ankle.

After a few minutes he unwrapped her arm from his shoulders and held it lightly. She was doing fine on her own, and after another few minutes she was walking on her own. "Thank you," she started softly, brushing back her violet hair. "For everything...for all your hospitality."

"It was nothing, really. You deserved better than my rinky-dink hideout."

Raven smiled. "It was fine." She leaned upwards and kissed his cheek in a platonic thanks. She pulled back, looking at him seriously. "Why are you a criminal?" she asked sadly. "You're way too intelligent, and kind, and witty to be a two-bit criminal like you are."

He looked away from her, not able to stand her intense gaze. "It is...a long and complicated story. I will perhaps explain one day, but not now. I couldn't." There was a slight silence, before he started. "I'm sorry, Raven." And the tone of his voice and the exact way he said it sounded so familiar to her that she stood there, shocked. What was going on?

Raven took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly. "Will I see you again?" She couldn't help but wonder, even if this was wrong.

"Of course." He leaned down and positioned his lips right above her ear, letting his soft breath fan out and tickle her neck. "And perhaps, one night, I'll visit you."

He pulled back, leaned down, and kissed her softly. She was about to push him away and tell him to never do that again, but she shut her mouth. What was she thinking? She enjoyed it. It was familiar...it reminded her that somehow, she might still be loved. "Just maybe," she whispered hoarsely, at a loss for other words. She turned towards the window.

"Raven?" he asked quickly, before he could take it back.

"Mhmm?"

"What would you say if I told you I loved you?" he asked.

There was a dead silence. You couldn't even hear the steady, rhythmic breath escaping from her lips. Her hand clasped onto the bed post for support, before turning her head so he could only see her profile.

"I'd say your crazy." Her voice was so soft you could barely hear it.

"Nevermind...that was stupid anyways. Just forget about it," he told her, his face an intense hue of red, although she couldn't see.

"Don't worry. _Sometimes we all feel stupid. We say the wrong things. You're not the only one_," she whispered the last part so it was barely audible. "Trust me."

Raven limped slightly as she walked over to the window and thrust it open, breathing in the cool November air.

"I'll be seeing you around," he murmured.

She promptly flew out, without another word or glance back. Gabe walked to the window and stared out at her retreating silhouette in the brightly lit sky, and slowly tears began to drip from his child-like blue eyes.

**TT**

Trust me, there is a reason I made this chapter the way I did. And, if I'm intelligent, there should be a lot of hints in here.


	12. Demonology and Heartache

**A/N**: Yay! I updated sooner! I hope to get a lot of quick updates soonbecause I snapped right out of my writer's block!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Atreyu or Teen Titans. Pshh.

**TT**

**Demonology and Heartache**

Raven flew back to the tower, holding her wrist to her stomach, thinking about what had gone on. Even as she was walking in the front door and up to the living room she was still thinking. She was still thinking as she walked in the living room door to see all her teammates watching the TV screen impatiently. It seemed to be attempting to track her whereabouts.

"Guys?" she asked timidly.

They all snapped around at the sound of a voice and Starfire was the first to bound around the couch and hug her as if the world were ending. "Oh dear Raven! We were all so worried and we thought that you were gone forever and then we received the call from the man who was the 'creepy' and told us you were safe and we were terribly frightened!" she said all in one breath, while she turned Raven blue with her tight hug.

"I'm fine, Star. You're crushing my broken wrist, though," she started, tears of pain forming in her eyes.

Starfire gasped and stepped back, cradling her wrist. "Oh I am terribly sorry! I made you weep! Oh, please do not be mad at me, Raven. I was merely very worried about you," she explained, biting her bottom lip.

"I'm not mad," she sighed, turning from Starfire to face the two boys that had worriedly approached her, wearing countenances of great concern. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Robin asked hoarsely. He came forward and caught her in a gentle hug. "For making me anxious like this? You should be. But I'm glad you're safe." He pulled back to watch her and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Come, sit."

Cyborg took her other hand and squeezed it gently, leading her to the couch. They procured a blanket and Starfire warmed up some hot chocolate. Robin sat on the coffee table directly across from her, staring at her intently as she stared into the depths of her cup. She sighed, wrapping the blanket closer around her, letting it protect her. She was confused as ever now.

"What happened?" Robin asked in a gentler tone than Raven had ever heard him use.

She took a deep breath and started her story in a shaky voice. "I went into the alley like you asked, and found Red X fighting...something. I don't know who or what it was, but it was fierce. It knocked him out, and then beat me up to the brink of death, or so I've been told, until Red X retaliated and then passed out. I passed out after that. When I woke up, I was in a nice, large, comfortable bed, and a man came into the room and said he had found me and had no other choice," she lied. "He told me he cleaned me up and that I was fine now, and I thanked him and left. I didn't realize I had been out for nearly a week."

"Did he explain why he didn't just take you to a hospital or something?" Cyborg asked, raising his eyebrow.

"No, and I have no idea," Raven replied hoarsely.

There was a slight silence. "You're ok now?" Robin asked.

"I'm fine," she stated firmly. "I woke up a little dazed but I'm fine now." She sighed and looked back up at him. "Do you think I could go see Beast Boy?" she asked, hope glittering in her eyes. "I know I just got home, but please? It's been a while, and we need to catch up."

Robin looked down and heaved a sigh. "Sure. Tell him I say hi." He looked up and sent her a shy smile. "And that we miss him."

"I will," she replied hoarsely, standing. She let the blanket slip from her shoulders and began on an unstable float out of the room.

**TT**

"Hey there," she started softly, setting roses atop of his burial plot. She viewed the flowers planted precariously around his grave and admired them in awe. "Haven't talked to you in a while. Things have been busy. What with Keith and being attacked and all..." she trailed off and sighed. "I'm sure you know all about Keith from up there. The view was probably pretty good."

Raven pulled her knees up to her chest and she watched the monument in his honor, as if it might spring to life. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just kind of lost it and let my guard down and...he was the only one that I ever let in. You know, that wasn't a Titan," she explained.

There was a brief silence in which Raven let her eyes silently fill with tears. "I miss you terribly. I just wish there was a way you would come back. It's horrible being in that tower everyday, being reminded of you with every turn I take. I can't stand it anymore. I have to get out, I have to go somewhere, I have to get away from it all!"

There was a soft rustling that Raven could hear now that she calmed her hysterical self.

"Why 'ello there darlin," a familiar voice sounded. Raven turned her head to see the old man, Willard, sitting next to her once more.

"Hello...Willard?" she asked daintily. The man smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad you remembered," he stated in his thick accent. There was a few moments of silence. "I've made it a weekly richual (A/N: ritual) to visit this boy's grave, now," he told her, looking up to face her, his scar showing.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was your relationship to Garfield?" Raven questioned the old man.

"We were close friends," he told her. "I 'ad a very person'l relationship wit' the youngin'."

Raven nodded in understanding. "So did I."

Willard pulled out a single rose and laid it on his plot, before tipping his hat at Raven. "Good even'en', Darlin'," he bade goodbye, before turning and walking away. He turned back, as if about to say something, but then closed his mouth and kept on his way, without another word or tip of the hat back. Raven rubbed her arms in attempts to warm herself up from the cold air that greeted her. It was very cold, seeing as it was early December

"Where was I?" she asked the tombstone before her. "Oh, God, I don't even remember." Raven sat back and let tears fall down her eyes. "How did I let it get this way? Red X chasing after me, me chasing after some gigolo, as if you never existed. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Raven leaned against the monument and freely sobbed, and felt a small raindrop pelt her cheek. It was followed by another, and another, until it was raining buckets.

"Oh, could my life be worse?" she asked herself, still sobbing. "I can't believe this."

"Why not?" a soft voice rang, and Raven felt a body slide next to hers, and an arm slide around her hunched shoulders. The voice was yet to be identified but it was youthful and manly. It certainly wasn't Willard again. "It's not like this wasn't going to happen."

Raven looked up into the emerald eyes she knew so well. "Beast Boy," she sighed in contentment and surged forward to hug him tight to her. "I missed you terribly," she cried, embracing him as if there were no tomorrow. Regretfully she pulled back and looked up into his eyes. "Oh, Azar, I'm so sorry Beast Boy!" she began hugging him again, more fierce this time. "It's just all so mixed up and-"

But he pulled back and pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh...don't talk." And she embraced him tighter and longer and never willed to let go.

There was a long period of silence between the two where the only noise was the pounding of the rain all around them. "Raven?" he spoke softly. He didn't wait for her to acknowledge him. "Don't forget that I love you, ok? _Love kills, romance is dead, and I don't even trust myself...but I love you_. I always have, I always will. No matter what. No matter what you or I do. No matter what comes between us."

He was making it sound like he was still alive.

"Promise?"

"I promise," she croaked.

And they continued to sit in silence, well after Raven had fallen asleep in his comforting embrace. But, and to Raven's dismay, she woke many hours later in her warm and comfortable bed, dressed in warm, clean clothes. It had all just been a vivid dream.

Or was it?

**TT**


	13. Snowbirds and Townies

**A/N**: I am so glad that I've had such an idea boom with my two stories. And I also want to make a point that the title and songto this chapter kind-of plays a role. The snowbird is meant to be Raven, and the Townie is meant to be Keith, if you listen to the song and its lyrics.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Teen Titans. And I do wish I owned Further Seems Forever, because they are amazing, but sadly I do not.

**TT**

**Snowbirds and Townies**

Raven awoke several hours later, dazed and slightly confused. Her clothes were dry, and she was wrapped in warm and comforting bed sheets. Her damp hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that was not executed by any woman that knew what hairstyling was. She threw her covers off herself and saw that she was dressed in a pair of black sweat pants and a sheer blue shirt. She looked, then, up to the ceiling.

"Thank you," she whispered towards Garfield.

She briefly remembered the sensation of his lips pressed up against her temple, a soft gesture of his love for her. She remembered the way it felt to be in his arms again. She remembered how it felt to be loved. It couldn't have been a dream.

A knock came to her door and her head spun around, watching the metal as if it would suddenly spring to life. "Yeah?" she asked hoarsely.

"Hey Raven," Robin started. "You came in rather quietly. I wasn't sure whether to disturb you or not and I saw you were asleep about two hours ago." Raven looked to her clock to see it was now eleven past eight at night. "You want some dinner or something?"

"No, I'm just going to go back to bed," she lied. "Please don't wake me."

"Oh...ok...if that's what you want." Robin sounded slightly offended, but Raven ignored it. "Star and I will be upstairs if you need us."

"Making out," she muttered under her breath, but retorted, "Thank you!".

Raven hopped out of bed and quickly undressed, before jumping into the shower connected to her room. She hopped out as soon as she had quickly washed and noticed that Garfield was perched upon his-well-perch, sipping at water. "Hey baby," she cooed, stroking his feathers. He chirped endearingly, before he began flapping his wings and flew out the open window into the clear night sky.

So, the rain had cleared up.

**TT** (A/N: there's a reason I ended it there...)

Raven was walking into the club a little more than an hour later, having visited the electronics store with money she had saved up to buy a new cell phone like she had been planning. The RAZR was now slipped snugly into the back pocket of her skintight jeans.

The familiar pounding music invaded her ears and before her eyes was the familiar sight of the mob of people dancing on the dance floor. It all looked like it had when she was here a little more than a week ago.

Except this time, there was someone sauntering towards her. A very handsome and devilish someone. Who happened to be named Keith Reese.

Raven smiled slightly as he came up to her, the smile very evident on his face. It looked as if it had been there all day. "Hey there," he started, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her forehead. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yea, I'm sorry, something came up that night I promised I'd meet you and I haven't been here since. Forgive me?" Which technically wasn't a lie. Something did come up.

"Not unless you forgive me first. I forgot I had to work every night-shift last week when we agreed to meet here. It's ok, it worked out," he flat-out lied. Raven, though, blissfully ignorant, fiddled with the popped collar on his casual-looking crimson polo. She thought this style was silly, and only knew one person she had to scold for ever doing it.

And sadly, she could no longer.

Yes, she was talking about Garfield.

"It worked out," she agreed, looking up into his gorgeous emerald eyes, which were covered by his hair flowing into his face. Then, a brand new song started on the dance floor. Temperature, by Sean Paul, a hit among the younger crowd nowadays.

Wait, what was Raven saying? She IS the younger crowd.

She took Keith's hand and led him to the dance floor. Other girls around glared in envy as he began dancing with the girl that had been occupying his mind lately. Even if he didn't know it was her.

"I missed you," he started softly in her ear, his breath fanning onto her neck and sending shivers down her spine. "It was a long week without seeing you, Rach." He smiled against the skin of her neck, and the feeling was wonderful...euphoric, almost. He began to kiss her skin, and Raven almost felt loved once again.

Almost.

There was still that empty space Garfield's death had left, and she couldn't ignore it. But she was doing a damn good job trying to show everyone she was over him, even if she wasn't. Especially if she kept her current behavior up. She was turning into something akin to a hussy. But was she just putting up a facade?

It was a long while before either of them moved from their dancing. Keith leaned down and whispered something into her ear and she wholeheartedly agreed. He took her hand and the two evaded the club, followed by judgmental stares of the other regulars. They didn't notice though, for both of them were so wrapped up in each other. They didn't need anything or anyone else at the moment.

"So..." he started softly after they had left the club and his fingers were still gently intertwined with hers. "Do you just want to take a walk then go to my place?" he asked. "It's getting kind of cold out."

"That sounds great," she replied, smiling up at him. He smiled back down at her, dropped her hand, and wrapped an arm around her waist. And the safe feeling came back. She subconsciously moved closer to him and felt warmth travel through her body despite the blistering cold. "Oh, by the way, I finally got a cell phone so I can keep in touch with you."

"About time you caught up with the technological age," he joked. "Can I see it?"

Raven pulled it out of her back pocket and handed it to him. "A RAZR? Nice." He flipped it open and began fiddling, and before long he stopped, turned the phone around, aimed it at himself, and turned it back around to show her that he had put in a photo contact of himself.

"Cute picture," Raven chuckled. "I especially like your dimples."

"I always knew they attracted women."

Raven smiled as he quickly set himself to number two on the speed dial (after her voice-mail), and slid the phone into her back pocket. "Thank you."

"Now you call me anytime you feel like it, you hear? No matter what time, no matter where you are. I'm always up to talk," he started, looking her straight in the eye. "Ok babe?"

She smiled genuinely, reaching up to hug him tight. "Ok. Thanks."

They walked on, enjoying the silence. "Do you know what I love?" Raven asked softly, her hand coming up to intertwine with his resting upon her shoulder.

"Me?" he suggested jokingly.

Raven chuckled. "Yes, yes, think what you want..." she trailed off with a sly smirk as he feigned hurt. "But I really love the winter time. I've always been told it's the season that best represents my soul, but I love it because I think it's beautiful. Especially with the snow in Jump City."

"It is beautiful," he told her, looking down. "Just like you." Raven blushed, but said nothing. "You wanna know something?" he asked her, and she nodded vigorously. "I think my heart stopped that day I saw you walk into the club. I saw you and felt an instant connection to you, like you were my soulmate standing in the middle of the dance floor with your cute shy stance. Stop me if I'm freaking you out or something, but...I felt something between us. Did you?"

She stopped him and looked up into his familiar emerald eyes, remembering back to that night. "I-I did," Raven stuttered. "I don't know. I was drawn to you."

Raven looked down to their feet, which were very close, then back up into his Caribbean blue eyes.

Wait, what?

"Why are your eyes blue?" she asked him, cocking her head to one side.

"Oh, they change sometimes," he responded quickly. A little too quickly. "It depends on the light I'm standing in. It's really cool...they were silver once or twice." Raven made an 'O' with her mouth, then chuckled.

"That's cute." She smiled lightly and watched as the light shone in his eyes and clouded them for a minute. They were back to emerald green. "They're back to green." He chuckled as he watched the childlike innocence mirrored on her face. Keith's arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer, his palm cupping her face as they both drew closer into a soft kiss.

"_This winter is lasting forever, at least for tonight_."

Around them, a soft snowfall began.

**TT**


	14. Tear You Apart

**A/N**: um...yea.

Disclaimer: I do not own She Wants Revenge (this chapter's song's artist) or the Teen Titans. If I did, I was sure to be a less-depressed teenager.

**TT**

**Tear You Apart**

Raven awoke the next morning curled up in Keith's arms, in his bed. She thought back to the night before and remembered that a few minutes after the snow began to fall they went back to his apartment and talked and made hot cocoa. After that (and after an incident involving bare feet and dancing in the snow on his second floor balcony), it was nearly one so Raven didn't have the strength to 'walk' home, so she innocently stayed the night with Keith. Nothing had happened.

Raven groaned and stretched out, which caused Keith, in turn, to wake up. "Rae?" he asked. "Rachel?" he groaned. "Oh I'm so tired. What did we do last night?"

Raven smiled into the darkness that was the backs of her eyelids. "We danced in the snow," she reminded him. "Which was pretty fun, by the way." Keith chuckled.

A ringing came by his bedside and he groped wildly for his cell-phone. He easily picked it up, flipped it open, and pressed it to his ear. He rolled over and wrapped his arm tight around Raven. "Mmm...'ello?" he groaned. He traced circles on her bare stomach, which was revealed because of her (technically his) shirt bunched around her waist. "What?" he asked, now fully alert. "Shit, you've gotta be kidding me!" He paused. "Crap! Yea, yea, later!"

Keith threw back the covers and jumped out, tripping on his way and scrambling up off the floor. Raven hazily sat up. "What is it?" she groaned.

"I just got a very important call," he told her, remorse in his eyes (though she could barely see because she was so tired her eyes were still squinting). "I'm sorry. I'll be right back if you want to wait..."

Raven smiled. "Ok...you promise?"

"I promise," he told her, coming forward to kiss her forehead tenderly. "I'll be right back." He opened his closet, reached in, and pulled out a brown paper bag. He cradled it in his arms as he rushed out the door with one last wink back. Raven sighed as she heard the front door click, signaling his departure, and leaned back onto the headboard. She momentarily succumbed to the softness of his millions of bed sheets, before grabbing a controller from his bedside and turning on the rather large TV in front of the bed.

The TV clicked on to Nickelodeon. Figures, she thought. He really was a kid inside. Raven changed it to the news channel to see if anything had happened, and was shocked to see what greeted her. A news report came to her over the TV broadcast, documenting how the Titans minus two were fighting Overload at Larry's Electronics. And the footage was live.

"Oh shit."

Raven jumped out of the bed, found the nearest piece of paper, scribbled 'something came up -Rach' on it, and turned off the TV. Raven opened up a portal, not bothering to grab her things, and jumped through. When in her room she hastily ripped off Keith's clothes and pulled on her jumpsuit. She pulled off her ring and threw it into a small bag, along with his clothes. In case he didn't come back first, she would have to go back, just so he didn't get suspicious. She didn't want him finding out, did she?

Oh no she didn't.

Raven opened up another portal (which is very tiring, I will let you know) in the alleyway next to Larry's Electronic's and stuffed the bag behind a trash can before running out to see a scene of mass chaos. Overload had ripped the roof off of the building and Starfire was flying up in the sky, shooting starbolts at various water sources to try and aim it at him.

Raven ran through the double doors into the store, and the other three Titans turned and all simultaneously yelled, "Raven!".

"Azarath...Metrion..." But before she could finish she was attacked by the side by Red X, who saved her from one of Overload's lightning-like spurts of electricity. She looked up into his mask. "You...saved me?"

"I'm trying to help," he replied in a grunt, standing up and offering her a hand. She gratefully accepted and smiled his way, and they shared a moment.

Which was quickly ruined by Overload aiming his electricity right between them, tearing them apart. They both jumped back and got their heads back into what they were doing. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, as she breathed her mantra once more and tried to beat Overload.

"Let's just say I have a thing going with Overload," and he jumped intot he air and disappeared, reappearing right behind him. He dealt a single blow and reappeared right next to Raven again. "And I have to protect you."

Raven stood there, shocked. "What?" she demanded. "Protect me? What the hell are you talking about?" She was angry now. She was in on something she didn't even know she was in on. "I can take care of myself!"

"Not against Slade you can't!" And he promptly disappeared, ending the conversation.

**TT**

The Titans ended up winning against overload when Cyborg pulled out a brand-spanking-new invention of his. Raven exchanged congratulations and explained where she had been this morning (with Beast Boy, which only Robin didn't believe), before telling them she was going out to do 'stuff'. Robin got suspicious, but didn't ask. Starfire sent her a warning look, and Cyborg was blissfully unaware.

Once she said goodbyes she floated quickly back to the alleyway and re-dressed in Keith's clothes. She opened up a portal and looked inside to see Keith's clear and empty room. Raven jumped in without haste just as the front door snapped to a close. Without waiting she closed the portal, jumped into the bed, and pretended to sleep.

Her eyes shot open, though, when she remembered the note she had left just in case. Raven used her powers to shred it to pieces, and her eyes snapped closed once more. "Rachel?" his soothing voice whispered when he entered the room. He walked towards the bed and there was a minuscule hiss as the bed next to Raven sunk. His hand started softly stroking her hair.

She feigned sleepiness in opening her eyes and smiled as she looked up at him. "Hey there," she murmured. She sat up a little quickly for having been 'asleep' a moment prior, but he shrugged it off. He was worrying about worse things at the moment.

Then Raven's eyes traveled to his stomach, which was being held by his so-far unused left hand. And there was blood stained on the abdomen of his shirt. "Keith!" she gasped.

He was preoccupied with fiddling with his shirt. "Keith!" she insisted and his head shot up, with his eyebrows. "What happened?"

"I was called into work," he lied. "I work for a mass-production company. The machine was jammed and I was the only one they could get to fix it. I fixed it, but I also found out what was wrong...the painful way."

Raven raised an eyebrow in questioning. "I swear."

"How did you know I didn't believe you?"

"My best friend used to do that little eyebrow thing when she didn't believe a word I said," he told her with a cute little smirk. "Listen, I have some things that need doing. I'm sorry, you know I'd love to have you stay, but..." he trailed off.

"At least let me clean you up first," she insisted. "I couldn't leave you like this."

He smiled softly. "Ok."

Raven led him into the bathroom where she proceeded to pull off his shirt and gently clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide.

Yeah, it hurt.

But Keith had to maintain his cool and composed attitude so 'Rachel' didn't think he was a weakling. On the inside he was, but there were many secrets about him she still didn't know. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"No," he groaned, fighting back a high-pitched and girly scream. Raven smirked, which he instantly caught. "Why are you smirking?" he half-snapped.

"You don't have to lie. I know, firsthand, how much hydrogen peroxide hurts. But it helps. Don't worry, it won't burn for long." Raven wiped off the excess blood and then gently wrapped a layer of gauze around it. Then, she wrapped a bandage around it and patted it lightly. "No more five-hundred crunches a day for you," she joked, remembering their talk of their exercise habits (hey, I told you they talked about everything).

He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't planning on it today anyways." Raven smiled and tutted to herself.

Boys.

**TT**

Raven was back home almost ten minutes later after a long goodbye. She dropped onto her bed and closed her eyes, willing herself to actually sleep for once. She rolled onto her side when she heard her door slide open. She groaned and waved her hand to try and prevent this intruder from coming in, but whoever it was just sat down next to her and patted her hand gently. Starfire's naturally sweet-smelling odor permeated the air.

"Hey Star," Raven mumbled. "What brings you into my room uninvited?"

Raven could practically feel the heat radiating off of her face. "I merely wish to talk. I am worried for you. You have become more reclusive than ever."

Raven sat up and opened her eyes to see the alien biting her bottom lip. Raven sighed and hunched over, resting her elbows on her knees. Starfire patted her back sympathetically. "Star, can you keep a secret?" Raven asked, looking up at her with her glistening violet eyes.

"Anything for you, Raven," she responded, her innocence shining ever-bright.

"Two weeks ago I talked to Gar. And I kind-of had a revelation. Without him, nothing will ever be the same and I can never be as happy as I was with him. So, without the same influence of happiness in my life, what is there to do besides mope?" Her question was rhetorical, but Starfire seemed to be thinking.

"I-"

"Don't answer that. Anyways, I figured that if he's not here, I should just try and have as much fun as I can. It's...different without him, sure, but I think I can get by. So, I've started going to a club to try and let loose, and my first night there I met a man named Keith. I swear, I would suspect this man of being Beast Boy if he weren't-well-normal."

"Raven..."

"I know what you're going to say. I shouldn't be doing this, it's immoral, above all things, but...I don't know. He's different. Well, not really because he's exactly like Gar but you get my point. If I cant have Gar, I might as well have the next best thing. You do trust my judgement?" Raven asked her, lip trembling.

"_It isonly a crush, it will go away. It isjust like all the others it willgo away_," Starfire told her softly, looking towards her feet. "_Or maybe this is danger and you just don't know_."

"Star..." Raven trailed off.

"I just do not know," Starfire sighed. "I do not know about this 'Keith'."

Ravenfrowned. "Do you want to see a picture?" Raven crawled to the edge of her bed and reached for the jeans she had been wearing the previous night. She slipped the phone out of the back pocket and flipped it open. It took her a few moments to guide herself to the photo album, but once she found his picture she held it up and let Starfire look.

"He is very handsome. I have to be admitting, though, he looks much like our departed friend. Except, as you said, he isnormal." Starfire took the phone, examining it. "Interesting devices, these cellular phones."

Raven chuckled. "One of these days, maybe for your birthday, I'll get you one. You'll love it."

"I cannot think of an occasion where I would partake in its usage," she responded.

"You could use it to call me when you don't want to come to my room, or call me when I'm out, or I could probably find a way to integrate its signal with the communicators' signal so you can call Robin and Cyborg."

Starfire smiled. "That would be nice." She scuffed her foot before walking towards the door. Starfire turned and looked towards Raven. "I will think about it. I will reserve my judgement until I hear more about this Keith."

"I trust him," Raven told her. "I want you to, too."

"We will see, Raven."

**TT**


	15. Girl All the Bad Guys Want

**A/N**: School is almost over, so expect quicker updates.

**Disclaimer**: I own neither BFS or Teen Titans.

**TT**

Raven, three hours later, could be found laying awake on her bed. She had been sleeping, but jerked awake and failed to get back to sleep. It was now abouteight at night, and it was dark. Raven sat against her head board and gathered one of her precious books into her arms and turned open to the page she had previously been on. She needed nothing but calmness right now, and reading a good book was exactly how to achieve that calmness.

She took a deep breath and flipped the page. Loud music came from across the hallway, but since it was across the supposedly sound-proof hallway, she only heard a soft hum. It was some type of emo music that Robin listened to.

Sissy.

Raven breathed deep and her eyes scanned over the words as she continued to read. Suddenly, her book became uninteresting and she bookmarked it, before shutting it with a resounding snap and setting it on her bedside table. She sighed and ran her hands through her violet locks before falling back onto her mass of pillows. She turned over and closed her eyes, preparing to sleep.

Except a noisy 'pop' disrupted the silence and she slowly opened her eyes to see Gabe standing right in front of her. So, she did what anyone would do when faced with such an unexpected vision.

She screamed.

He came forward and clapped his hand over her mouth, immediately stopping her screams. He removed it once she gathered her bearings and glared sternly at him. "If you weren't so fast any of the Titans would be down here in a second and they would have found you!" she hissed. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"_Trying to get the girl all the bad guys want_," he admitted blatantly, a small smirk across his lips. "How about we go out tonight?" he asked, a pink tint now rising to his cheeks and his smirk dropping slightly. She had to admit, it was endearing. "Please? I promise I'll show you a good time." He held out his hand towards her now sitting form.

"What if you came all this way just to hear me say no?" she asked him.

"It was still worth it, just to see you."

"Why do you like me so much?" came the shy question she had been burning to ask him. "Why me? I'm your greatest enemy." She stood and walked to her window, pushing back the silken black curtains. "You hate the Titans. You hate me. And even if you aren't playing some sort of facade, why start showing interest now. You think I'm vulnerable because of-" she gulped "-Gar?"

"Never. I wouldn't take advantage of you. I just-" he walked after her and had his hand poised over her shoulder, but retracted it. "I guess you could say I have my own reasons. But, I truly do want to be with you. Just trust me, I can't tell you yet. Someday. Now what do you say?"

"Give me some time to throw some clothes on and I'll give you a chance," she told him, turning to smile slightly. "But no promises. Just a friendly outing."

"If that's the best I can get, I'll take it. I'm not picky."

Raven told him to wait just a second and she ventured to her walk-in closet to throw on jeans and a baggy-tee. She pulled her ponytail out and let her hair slide over her shoulders and down to her waist. Raven exited her closet with her hands in her back pockets and smiled shyly towards Gabe. "You ready?" she asked.

"Ready as ever," he replied with a toothy grin. "C'mere." He walked towards the window and threw it open. He stood on the ledge, ducked slightly to accommodate his tall form, and took her hand to bring her with him. She stepped on the ledge and felt the cool December air against her face, and smiled.

"Now the real question; are YOU ready?" he asked.

She raised a single eyebrow in his direction. He smirked and took her waist, before jumping. She swore as they started free-falling towards the water below. She then screamed. He only laughed as if he enjoyed torturing her. Her screams grew louder as the approached the water faster and faster. She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, screaming in his ear.

Then, two feet before the cold, uninviting water, there was a quick pop and they disappeared together.

They reappeared inside a small room, with a single desk, a rutty office chair, and a ripped leather couch with a small wooden coffee table. The only relatively new thing in the room was a shining light and dark blue electric guitar in a stand in the corner. Gabe smirked, as Raven continued screaming, but no one could hear her because of loud music coming from outside the office. "Nice."

"Where are we? What just happened?" Raven asked, as he tentatively let go of her waist. He walked towards the guitar stand, picked it up, and threw the strap about his shoulder. It hung in a 'I'm-a-cool-rockstar-and-you-know-you-want-to-be-this-sexy-man's-groupie' kind of way. And it looked pretty cool with his tight pants and polo with the collar popped.

"When you wear the suit as long and as often as I have, the Xynothium seeps through your skin and travels through your bloodstream. It's not dangerous, but it gives you the powers of the suit. I can appear and disappear with or without the suit," he told her. "No side affects yet, but I have a feeling my hair may start to turn red soon."

"Whoa," Raven breathed.

"Yea. Don't get used to that, though, because I have to take my motorcycle home. I left it in the parking lot here a few nights back after a gig I did. That's where we are now, one of my concerts," he told her.

"Your concert?"

"I'm in a band called Your Perfect Future. We do mostly pop punk, emo, Fall-Out-Boy-type music. Anyways, we're in the backroom of a community center in downtown Jump. I brought you here to see us perform, and to have some fun. You ready for it?" He asked, smiling her direction, switching his guitar so it was resting on his back.

"Ready," she replied softly. He took her wrist and led her out into the large main room, where a hundred or so kids were already gathered. They walked up towards the front of a large stage and he let go of her wrist to jump onto the stage and take the center microphone. He looked to the people on either side of him, one with a bass guitar and one with an electric guitar. He then looked back at the drummer and winked.

"Is that her?" he mouthed, for Gabe would surely not be able to hear him over the din of the crowd. He jerked his head towards the front.

"Yea, that's her," Gabe replied. "Amazing, isn't she?"

"I'll say."

Gabe turned back around, strumming his guitar a bit to make sure it was tuned before plugging it into the amplifier. He smirked down towards Raven and winked, and the ghost of a blush spread across her cheeks. "Ok, so if we rowdy teens wanna settled down a bit...there that's good. Hey, I'm Gabe." He strung his "a" out a bit as if he was going to say something else. "And we are Your Perfect Future. Do we have any requests tonight?"

"Rewind!" someone shouted from way behind Raven in the back and there were shouts of approval. She smiled up at him as he cocked his head to one side, his mouth pressed against the microphone. His eyes darted down to her for only a second.

"Sounds like a good opener, right boys?" Gabe started, looking to either side of him. "Ok then. Rewind it is."

Gabe strummed his guitar a few times as the drummer clapped his drumsticks together, shouting out, "One, two. One, two, three, four!". He then brought his hand down swiftly, like Raven had seen many rockstars on TV do, and his guitar began pulsing a loud, upbeat intro to a song that sounded slightly familiar.

"Rewind," he sang into the microphone, his eyes closed, hand going a mile a minute. He looked really in his element. "Step back. Take a look at all you have done."

He pulled his head away from the microphone and looked down at his fingers diligently strumming, before coming back to the microphone. "Rewind. Step back. Where has it gone, all the fun? You thought it was just a bit of innocent play, I can't believe I let you think that way. Now I'm forwarding my life and leaving you behind."

Raven was entranced in the music, smiling dazedly up at him, as he took the occasional look down to smirk or wink. Raven didn't even listen to the lyrics anymore, she was just looking up at him. Why did he look so familiar to her? And why did this song sound so familiar? Why was everything about him so familiar?

He finished up the song after a few more minutes and there was a loud round of clapping, catcalls, whistles, and cheers. He smirked against the microphone. "For those diehard fans out there you might've noticed I missed a few notes, well, that's because I'm pretty nervous." He looked as if he anticipated the response of the crowd, which was an "aww" in complete unison.

"WHATCHA NERVOUS ABOUT?" someone cried from the back, presumably the same person that cried out 'Rewind'.

"Hey, B-Rad!" Gabe returned into the microphone. "Anyways, folks, I'm nervous because there's a pretty girl here tonight that I'm trying to impress." Gabe looked down at Raven and she blushed, though you probably couldn't tell in the dark room. "And I'm not so sure if she likes me the way I like her."

"SHE'D HAVE TO BE CRAZY!" the guy named 'B-Rad' shouted back. "You're one sexy boy!"

Gabe laughed into the microphone, a sweet sound. Raven adored it. It was childish but manly enough for someone his age. "B-Rad, act your age not your shoe size. Moving on...anymore requests from the crowd tonight?"

Someone in the back, a woman, screamed 'Lost Without You', and he frowned immediately. "Now, for those folks out there that don't know this, but this is my favorite song. I wrote it during a low point in my life, and it helped me vent feelings, and I realized that keeping things bottled up isn't good. You need to face things head on, and confront your problems. Well, here it is for our loyal fans."

The drummer counted up again and the started a slow ballad, Gabe barely strumming his guitar as he looked down, his hair covering his darkened eyes. "I'm lost. Lost without you, girl. Left with a kiss, thought I coulda missed, the look on your face, something I couldn't place." He looked down towards Raven and smiled sadly. "Without you here, without you near, don't think I could live, without all you give. Keep me on my feet, well you've got me beat. I'm lea-eaving."

There was about a thirty second drum solo and the whole band began playing once more. There were a few more lyrics, and the song sadly came to a close. Gabe didn't say anything, and Raven could swear she saw his eyes glistening. He looked towards the guy at the microphone next to him, and he pressed his mouth to the microphone.

"Any more requests?"

There was another yell from the back and they played another song, more upbeat this time. Once it was over, Gabe unplugged his guitar, announced a ten minute break, and hopped off the stage to talk to Raven. He swung his guitar around to his back and smiled goofily at her.

"Did you like it?" he asked, slightly nervous about her response.

"I loved it. That song was so...moving. I could really feel the emotion in it. It was amazing," she told him. "You're a great musician."

"Thanks. I've always wanted a future with music, but I wasn't so sure with my...current career," he replied, looking away and fidgeting with his hands. She laid her hands over his to make him stop fidgeting.

"You mean because you're a criminal?"

"Y-Yeah," he stumbled over his words as he brought his eyes down to their hands and then up to her eyes.

"I'm sure you can still be amazing...not as Red X," she whispered, letting her hands fall. The warmth that had spread through his body on contact had swiftly evaporated. "You can be a normal human and still do great things."

But he had no time to answer because one of his band members announced that he needed his band back upstage. Gabe glanced briefly at Raven and smiled reassuringly, before climbing back onstage. He momentarily whispered back-and-forth with the bassist, who smiled and punched him in the arm. Gabe smiled back and mouthed an inaudible phrase before turning back to his microphone, to go on to sing four more songs before they were done for the night.

"That was great," Raven told him, as they walked outside into the brisk air, to get away from the noise. She took a short breath and smiled slightly when she saw her breath in the air. Did she mention she loved winter? "I didn't realize you had a whole other life...besides Red X."

"I do. It was kind of hard to come into my own as a person, no mask, no costume, just me," he told her, stuffing his hands in his pockets, his cheeks already turning red. "Everything about being Red X is hard. From learning about the tricks the suit can manage, to covering up your tracks. But at least I can do some good."

Good? Raven thought to herself. He's a criminal. "Speaking of...good..." she stressed the word, making him look up at her with a questioning countenance. "What did you mean when you said I couldn't defend myself against Slade?" Raven had been looking at her scuffling feet, but after the question slipped from her lips she looked up at him to catch him staring thoughtfully at her. Her cheeks turned pink, but not from the cold.

"I am turning over a new leaf, I assure you. I may still steal, cheat, and lie, but deep down I'm a good person," he responded with a haughty smirk. "I've heard of a plan Slade has. He knows I know, and he threatened me to stay out of his business and to back off, but that doesn't mean I can't help you."

Raven furrowed her brow. "But what-?"

He held up a hand to silence her. "He's planning to turn the Titans against each other so what's left will slowly deteriorate and break apart, so then the city will be his. I was unlucky enough to come across this secret a few months back, and once he found out I knew, it was hell. He stalked me, making sure I didn't tell. He tried to get me to come to his side, but I remained adamant. So, instead, he ruined my life."

"How?" Raven asked.

"I-" but he was cut off as someone came towards them, waving a hand. He stopped in front of Gabe and Raven got a good look at him. He was very tall, about six feet, with black hair combed in front of one eye, bits of ice blue peeking out. Whoever he was, he was very lanky and was dressed in what seemed to be women's jeans.

"Gabe, they need you back inside," he started in a deep, gravelly voice. "Something about Derrick?"

"What did they do to my baby?" he demanded.

"No idea, but you might want to get back in there before it gets worse," this mysterious man replied.

"They are going to pay," he menaced. He turned back to Raven. "Derrick's the love of my life, my guitar. If they did anything to him, I will have to castrate someone. Stay here and make friends with Jared."

He then began on a sprint inside, yelling "WHO DID WHAT TO MY DERRICK?" as he entered the doorway.

"Um...hi," Raven started awkwardly, shuffling her feet.

"You're that Raven girl from the Teen Titans, right?" Jared asked.

"Yea," she began shakily, completely forgetting that she didn't have her ring on.

"You're hot in person," he replied cooly, as if he called a superhero hot every day. Raven hid a small, embarrassed smile and blushed slightly, though you probably couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Um...thanks?"

Soon enough, after an awkward silence, Gabe came running back out, barely out of breath, with his guitar strapped to his back. "Sorry about that," he told Raven, then looked at Jared. "Made friends, I suppose?" he asked.

"Eh," they both replied ambivalently.

"Ok, so-" And, being interrupted for the umpteenth time that night, Jared began talking again.

"Hey, aren't those a few of your teammates over there?" he asked, pointing over their heads. Raven whipped around to see Robin and Starfire hanging off each other, smiling and laughing, entering the building. But Robin had spotted Raven and dashed out of the building, closely followed by Starfire to get a better look. Raven hid in front of Gabe, pressed close to him with her hands on his shoulders, her eyes peeking over to make sure they went back inside before she let go.

But they didn't go back inside. Instead, they headed over, making a beeline for Gabe.

**TT2**


	16. I Think We're Alone Now

**A/N**: The song I used is a remake, but I'm using the remake artist's name because the version they did is better.

**Disclaimer**: I wish.

**TT2**

Raven's eyes widened. "Gabe!" she hissed. "They're coming!"

"Shit," he cursed, pushing her away and pulling off his guitar. "Make sure this finds its way back into its stand in the back room, mmkay?" he told Jared, shoving it into his arms. "Gotta jet, Jare. Tell everyone I say bye." Gabe then took her hand and began pulling her as they sprinted towards where he had parked his motorcycle. Starfire and Robin took off after them.

"Jump on!" Gabe yelled at her, starting it up as she swung her leg over and slipped the helmet on. He revved it up, forgetting to grab his own helmet out of the compartment under the seat, and took off. They were on the road soon and thought they were safe, until Starfire and Robin came up behind them on the R-cycle. "Never thought I'd get to see those two in regular clothing, and under the weirdest of circumstances," he yelled back.

Raven managed a feeble laugh. "Look, I know this shortcut they're going to take, but I know a faster one. Take a quick right ahead!" she yelled, tightening her grip around his waist as he took a sharp curve around a building. "Now they can't see us, take another quick right." He took another sharp curve and she squealed slightly, which he merely smirked at. "Now a left on Congress Street."

He stopped at a stop sign and then took the left and began on a speed down this road. "How long?" he yelled back to her.

"Follow this-like-two miles to Main and then it takes you right to the bridge," she told him. "But, wait. Stop, stop!" she ordered him. He skidded to a stop in front of a semi-brightly lit, empty park. Raven took out her communicator and fiddled with the buttons before pressing the speaker to her ear. He leaned over and began listening intently, aware of how close they were.

"Hey, look, Vic will you go check up on Raven for us?" Robin's voice sounded, and it was obvious she had tapped into his communicator's frequency. "We're worried about her, that's all," he lied smoothly.

"Mmkay," they heard Vic on the other end say. "I'm in my room, so It'll just take me a second." He was humming to himself as you heard the sounds of sitting up and the whoosh of his door.

Raven turned off her communicator. "Shit! Make us appear in my room, now! They can't know I was gone!" Gabe took her hand and immediately, with a pop and a sick feeling they were in her room. She ushered him into the closet, pulled on pajama shorts, and ruffled her hair, to make it seem as if she were sleeping.

"I can see you, you know," he told her.

"Sick-o!" she gasped. "Close your eyes!" She pulled on her pajama bottoms. "God...men!"

"You shoulda warned me!" he protested, but she silenced him as there was a knock on her door.

"Rae, you ok in there?" came the familiar voice she knew as the voice of her older brother (or as close as he could get). "Raven? You asleep?" But she responded that she was awake (in a fake sleep voice) and would be right there. She went to the door and half-opened it, sticking her head through.

"Hey Vic. What's up?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Robbie wanted me to check up on you. He worries about you, you know," he reminded her, about the umpteenth time since Gar's death.

"I know. Tell Anal-Retentive I'm fine." Vic chuckled, and repeated 'She's fine' back into his communicator. Robin's response sounded like he had a hard time believing it, but accepted it and the line went dead. "I'm going to go to sleep. Don't bother me, ok?"

"Ok, Rae." He ruffled her hair and let his hand travel down to her cheek to stroke it softly. "Sweet dreams."

"Back at ya, home boy," she responded with a slight smile as his large form began to walk away. Her door made the metallic whoosh signaling its closing, and she leaned back against it and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Psst...Gabe," she hissed, and he stepped from the closet, half-smiling. Gabe walked towards the door and leaned up against it, consequently leaning against Raven as well.

"Hey there," he started casually.

"You're on me," she stated blatantly.

"Yes, I am."

Raven sighed. "Ok, let's get back to what we were doing," she told him. He shrugged and agreed, taking her hand and making them disappear together. They arrived back where his motorcycle was parked, and they both returned facing the park.

"What do you say?" he asked. "Does that park look good enough for you?"

Raven looked up at him and smiled, before taking his wrist and dragging him into the vacant park. He merely smiled and followed her willingly. They followed along the path and Raven decided to bring them to a grassy patch next to a playground. They fell to the ground, Raven on top of Gabe, and they rolled down a small, grassy hill before coming to a halt at the bottom. Their hearts were beating rapidly and their breath was slightly ragged. Gabe was now resting slightly on her, but was using his arms to keep most of his weight off of her. He leaned down, his lips on her ear, his hot breath a nice change from the cool December air.

"_I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around_," he whispered in her ear.

"_I think we're alone now_," Raven replied, her voice soft. "_The beating of our hearts is the only sound_."

There was a slight silence where all they exchanged were small smiles.

"I thought this was supposed to be a friendly outing?" he asked, with another smirk that had become his trademark in all of two hours.

"I don't see anything less than friendly here," was her response and her hands came up to rest on his forearms on either side of her face. "I think this is something two friends would do. Don't you?"

"Is _this_ something two friends would do?" he asked, before he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers. She responded only slightly, but that was all she had time to do before he pulled away.

Instead of answering his question, she instead turned her head. "Do you wanna feel like a kid again?" she asked, ignoring all that had just transpired. He smiled in response, and she slid herself out from under him and pulled him up. Playfully, he resisted when she tugged him towards the swing set on the playground. She turned and fell back onto the swing, pushing herself up and feeling the cool breeze hit her face.

"I always feel like a kid," he responded to her previous statement, falling back into a seat just like she had. "Don't worry about making me feel like one again."

Raven looked towards him and smiled. "You remind me of Garfield."

"How so?" he asked with a small smile.

"You are so childish. You know when to be serious, but you're such a goofball. And the way you look. Your face, your hair, your eyes. You're exactly how I would imagine him if he were normal," she told him. "You're like his twin or something."

"Is that a compliment?" He retorted.

"I guess so. But a real compliment would be saying your kiss is almost as good as his." He merely continued to smile.

"Almost?" he asked.

"Almost. Garfield was an amazing you could not top," Raven told him. "And I've only kissed him twice! Once when I accidentally collided with him in the hall and he was in a towel and I kinda couldn't control my hormones, and once the night before his passing." Raven kept swinging, a gentle creak meeting her ears, and looked up to Gabe.

"I've never told anyone that."

"I'll take it to the grave," he started. He held out his pinky. "Pinky promise."

Raven pinky-promised it.

"Do you ever miss Gar?" he asked.

"Always. Every second of every day. He may not of known it, but he meant a lot to me, just like everyone else. But there was something there that I didn't have with anyone else," she sighed. "I'm not afraid to admit I might have loved him. But since he passed before I could experiment with my feelings, the bond between us was never so strong. I regret that."

"I'm sorry," he told her, his tone genuine. "If he were here now, I'm sure he'd treat you like the amazing woman you are."

She smiled. "Thank you." Raven then stopped swinging abruptly and looked to Gabe, who had mirrored her actions. "It's not fair. Many times I tell myself only the good die young. It's so true." He watched her glistening eyes and part of him died, right there. "I felt like, that night, a small hole opened up in my heart and I've been trying to ignore it. No matter what I do, the void is always there."

He leaned over in his seat, his lips an inch away from hers. "I can help you fill it." He gently touched his lips to hers, his hand cradling her face with the utmost care.

Raven, though, pulled away after what seemed like only a few short seconds. She looked at him with a slightly shocked expression on her "I-I'm...look..." Raven sputtered a bit. "Can you take me home?" she asked, her voice soft and emotionless.

"Raven, look-"

"Please?" she asked, not begging, just...asking.

"Yea, sure," he agreed, his voice monotone. "Follow me." He took her hand gently in his and led her back to his motorcycle, words unspoken between them. Raven hopped on back after slipping on her helmet, and held his waist as he took off.

It was a short and silent ride to the tower. Raven clamored off and rested the helmet on the back of the seat, and shared a meaningful glance with Gabe. "Thanks," she whispered hoarsely. He nodded in response. Raven touched his hand on the handlebar before floating serenely up to her room.

Gabe squeezed his eyes shut and nodded to himself, realizing that wasn't the way he planned on winning Raven's heart. "Way to go," he whispered to himself. "Way to fuck things up with the only woman who could ever love you, Gar."

**TT2**


	17. Be My Escape

**A/N**: so. here you go. i wub my readers!

**Disclaimer**: Think about it. If I owned the Teen Titans, would I be here right now?

**TT2**

Raven flew through her window and sat herself precariously on her bed, tears beginning to cloud her vision. She didn't even know why she was crying, now. All she knew was that, somehow, in some form, things had gotten screwed up and out of hand. How could she let it get this way? How could she let Gar slip through her fingers, and the next best thing, too?

She couldn't handle this. Everything was getting too crazy for her, and she needed to get away, just for a little while. Get away from everything, from it all.

She reached for the phone on her bedside table. She flipped open and dialed the number she knew by heart. It rang once, twice, three times, before he picked up and sleepily answered. "'Ello?"

"Hey Keith," she responded softly, curling herself into a ball and trying to keep her voice from cracking. He was all she could turn to at the moment to get away from her own life. He was providing the escape she needed so badly.

"Rache, what's up?" he started, trying to keep from sounding so tired.

"Keith...can I come over? Please?" she asked. "I need...I need someone right now."

"Oh, Rache," he began softly, his voice beginning to fill with emotion. "Of course, come on over. You know I always have room here for you if you ever need something."

"O-Ok," she stuttered, her voice faltering as she let out a little sniffle.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked gently.

"I-I just need to get out of the house right now. I'm having problems and...look, I'll see you in twenty minutes, ok?" she told him, cradling the phone in her hands. He consented and easily she flipped it closed and slipped it into the pocket in her sweatpants. Quickly she threw on a light sweatshirt and slipped on a pair of sandals. She grabbed a change of clothes, her communicator, and the keys to the emergency back-up car that all of the Titans were required to have in their room "just in case".

Slowly she walked up to the living room, trying to piece together in her mind what she would say. Raven tried to calm herself down, to no avail, before entering the living room. She wiped away her tears, before briskly entering. Everyone in the room looked up at her. Robin and Starfire were home, and Cyborg was fixing himself a snack.

"Raven, what's going on?" Cyborg asked, seeing all the things in her arms.

"I have to get out of here for a while," she told them, and they all looked at her as if she had three heads. "I'm sorry, it's just things are getting too crazy here and I...I just need to get out. I'm taking the emergency car, Cy."

"Raven!" Starfire gasped. "Where will you go?"

"I'm going to stay with a friend. I'll be back in a few days, maybe even tomorrow if I'm ready. I just can't take all that's been happening," she finished hoarsely. She looked away and then swiftly exited the room, leaving her friends staring after her in shock.

**TT**

Raven was on the road in minutes, fiddling with the radio on a back road that would lead her to Park Avenue, where Keith lived. Be My Escape by Relient K came over the radio, and she couldn't help but laugh sardonically at how well it portrayed her mood at the moment.

She turned it up a few notches and knew she would wake a family or two with her blasting music at this time of night. She began to sing along to the song she knew all so well, and took a sharp turn onto the main road that would lead her to his apartment. She wondered how Keith would react when she told him she needed to stay with him a few days. Would he be ok with it?

She was sure he would. I mean, if he really cared about her, he wouldn't mind having her with him, right?

She swerved into the parking lot next to his apartment and parked the car. She didn't bother to grab the extra change of clothes or her communicator, but left the car locked with only her cell-phone and the keys in her pocket. Before she forgot, she slipped the ring onto her finger. Raven then crossed her arms over her chest, shivering slightly from the cold that enveloped her. She should've dressed more appropriately for Winter.

Quietly, she knocked on his front door, trying to make herself as small as possible to warm herself up. There was a racket inside and soon enough the door swung open, blowing a gust of warm air towards her. Keith stood there in haphazardly pulled-on sweatpants over boxers, and nothing else. Raven could see the healing scar on his stomach from a couple of days before.

"Rachel?" he asked sleepily. You could tell he had fallen back asleep after she had called.

"Keith," she breathed, and she rushed in to give him a hug. He seemed taken aback but then squeezed her back, just as tight. He pulled back and kissed her forehead, before hugging her close to him again. "Thank you so much for letting me come over."

"Anytime, Rache. C'mon, come in," he ushered her inside and swiftly closed the door. It was very warm inside, which was the first thing Raven noticed. She pulled off her sweater and hung it on the coat rack by the door, revealing the tank top she had been wearing underneath. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

She nodded slightly, her arms curled around her again. He put his hand on the small of her back, sending chills up her spine, and led her to his living room. "Take a seat," he told her. "I have some hot chocolate on the stove in the kitchen, I'll just go grab it."

Raven fell into a comfortable leather couch seat and curled herself into a ball. Keith came back a few moments later with two steaming mugs in hand. He handed one to Raven, who took a dainty sip before setting it on the coffee table. Keith didn't sip his, but set it next to Raven's. "What's going on, babe?" he asked gently, brushing away a stray lock of her currently onyx hair.

"It's just things at...home...have been getting pretty bad. Everyone there is getting on my nerves and ever since my best friend died, I told you about him, things at home have been getting less bearable and I just can't take it. I had to get out." She picked up her mug and took another deep sip. She set it down quietly, before leaning into him and resting her chin on his shoulder, her arms coming up to circle his neck. "_I'm begging you to be my escape_," she murmured, her voice rough and throaty.

"Anytime, babe," he whispered back, before pulling her into a gentle kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered against his lips. He smiled, and even though her eyes were half-lidded, she could feel it

"No problem," he mumbled. "Come on, let's get to bed."

"What? Do you have work in the morning?" she asked playfully, pulling away to look at him through her sleepy eyes.

"In fact, I do," he replied with a small smile. "So you'll be alone for a few hours. Can you handle that?"

"I think I can manage."

Keith smirked, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers, leading her to his bedroom. He flicked on the light to reveal the immaculately clean room, the beige carpet soft under her feet. It was decorated beautifully in hues of greens and blues, which Raven really never took the time to realize before.

Keith had traveled to the window. "Hey look, it's snowing," he commented softly.

Raven smiled distantly, pulling off her sweatpants to reveal shorts underneath. It was too warm in his apartment for sweatpants. She laid them across the back of his nearby beige armchair, before climbing into his amazingly comfortable bed. She could get used to this bed better than her own.

Keith joined her a few moments later after turning off the light, and she curled up next to his warm body, letting him wrap his arms around her. She snuggled into his collarbone as he kissed her hair. "I love you, Rae," he whispered.

She only smiled into the darkness, feeling loved for the first time in a long while.

**TT**


	18. Maneater

**Disclaimer**: Kthnx. Teen Titans and Nelly Furtado do not equal mine.

**A/N**: I'm sorry I'm bad at updating. Hopefully this will be sufficient enough to hold you until next weekend, or at least until a night this week that I don't have a game.

**TT**

**Maneater**

It was dead silent. The night had crept upon the sleeping couple, cuddled together under the mass of sheets. The moonlight from a large window spilt upon them and illuminated each curve that made up their bodies. Their only movement was a small twitch in their sleep, or Keith's move to pull her body closer to his. He smacked his lips and intended on sleeping just as peacefully as he had been, but whatever greater force up there had different plans.

Raven turned, consequently landing on his arm. He awoke with pain shooting through his veins. Raven turned again, and, a moment later, again. Her movements became shaky. She began to turn every few seconds. Whimpers escaped her lips and her body jerked violently. Her whimpers turned into screams of terror.

"Rachael!" he gasped. "Oh, God." He had never been in this situation before and, truthfully, had no idea what to do. Deciding this might be the easiest thing, he reached over and stroked her hair softly while reaching for her hand. He squeezed it softly. "Rae...Rache, it's ok," he murmured.

She snapped awake, tears filling her eyes. Raven launched herself up and threw herself at him, crying. "I had the worst dream. You were there and then you got in an accident and you were just gone! Don't leave me," she sobbed, almost incoherently, into his shoulder. "Don't ever leave me."

"Don't worry, Rae, don't worry. I'll always be here for you," he reassured her. "Nothing could keep me from you."

And in her sleepy haze, she realized that, indeed, it was not Garfield she was talking to. She continued to cry silently as she laid back down and let herself be soothed to sleep by Keith. A few minutes after she fell asleep a gasp escaped his lips as the woman before his eyes became much more familiar.

And suddenly it all fell into place.

**TT**

Raven awoke the next morning tangled in his sheets and in his button-down shirt. She looked around wildly, seeing the faint light from the window and nothing else but dark. She kicked off the covers and stepped out of the bed, straightening the shirt. She realized he must've had a extremely long torso, because he wasn't that tall but the shirt still came down to a little past her thighs.

Raven rubbed her eyes as she wandered idly from the bedroom into the kitchen, where a delicious-smelling breakfast allured her. She entered, her feet softly padding on the cheap yet elegant-looking linoleum floor. "Hey there," she started with a smile as he turned around from his cooking to send her a huge grin.

"You know, I woke up today and felt you curled up next to me, and I thought that is one hell of a way to wake up," he told her as she wrapped her arms around him from behind and went on her tiptoes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"You're so tall," she stated in wonderment. "How come I never noticed?"

"Because your always in heels?" he guessed, although he knew very well she didn't wear heels. For just a moment he turned from his cooking, her arms still around him, and kissed her softly. "By the way, can't believe I've never noticed you're so short."

She smiled, pretending to be offended. "I am not short, thank you very much. I like to refer to it as height impaired."

He smirked, turning around to grab the pan off the stove. "I hope you like scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, english muffins, pancakes, orange juice, and milk," he joked. "Watch out, it's hot." Raven let go and sunk into a chair as he took the pan to a large plate on the counter and scooped out the contents. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made it all. Soy bacon, though, sorry. I know how you hate tofu, but i didnt have any meat products."

That's weird, she never remembered telling him she didn't like soy. "It's ok, everything tastes the same to me," she told him, just to make him feel better, since she hated the taste of tofu products. He set the eggs on the table and slunk down into his own chair.

"Dig in," he offered, and she smiled appreciatively at him before picking up a stack of pancakes and laying them on her plate, along with some eggs, toast, and an english muffin.

"Thank you so much. I'm so hungry," she told him, slathering her pancakes with syrup and digging in almost immediately, without waiting for a response.

They ate in silence for most of the meal until Keith noted it was almost one in the afternoon and they were still eating breakfast. "Look, I have to go to work today, from three to six and then again from eight to one," he told her through mouthfuls of egg, but elegantly so his mouth was nearly closed. "The first is at a gas station a little way away...I quit the factory job after my last injury because it got too...dangerous. The second job is at the club." Raven didn't have to ask what club. "I bartend there most nights of the week for a little cash on the side."

"Ok. I think I'll come with you to the club, I want to see if any of my friends are there. I haven't seen them in forever," Raven told him, pushing her plate away. She stood and picked it up, beginning to wash it off in the sink. "But I'll just stay here and entertain myself from three to six. It's not that long."

He smiled. "That's my girl."

Raven plunked herself on the couch as Keith took a shower and got ready for work. She flipped through channels until she found a news network that was currently reporting on the most recent bust of the Teen Titans. It had been early this morning, a shape-shifting monster that had begun to morph into pizza at the pizza place downtown. It was currently a forty-foot high pizza, with jaws of steel and an appetite for humans. Fun.

Before she knew it he was collapsing next to her, in a clean blue button-up that had his name on one side and Sunoco on the other. On his legs were a pair of ripped bluejeans and ratty old sneakers. "Teen Titans, eh?" he asked. "Hey, what happened to that pretty one?" he asked. "The Gothic one? Where is she?" He picked up on the fact that she wasn't there rather quickly.

"Raven? Oh, I don't know," she faked. "They haven't been showing her though." She turned up the volume.

"And I'm receiving word now...Raven has quit the Teen Titans!" the anchorwoman started, shocked. Keith and Raven both gasped aloud, then looked at one another with red faces. "Reportedly, Raven of the Teen Titans walked out last night with a packed suitcase, and was seen driving across town. She disappeared from the sight of a witness after pulling into a dark street off of Main Avenue."

"She was my favorite," Keith said, his arm finding its way around Raven's shoulder. If only he knew.

"Me too," Raven replied rather unconvincingly. "It won't be anything without her."

"Well, maybe she hasn't quit," Raven supposed. She surely did not plan on quitting! "Maybe she took a break. I imagine being a superhero can be tiring at times." Raven turned and looked at Keith, who was looking at her strangely. "Well, you know, having to save everyone all the time. I would get tired."

Keith smiled and gave her a short kiss. "You are so adorable." He took a look at his watch. "I have to get to work. I probably won't get off work until around six forty-five so I'll be home around seven to pick you up and go to the club. Ok?"

"Sounds good," Raven told him. He leaned over and gave her a short hug, before standing up and pulling on a coat. "I'll see you later."

"Later, babe." He snatched up his cell phone and put it into his jacket pocket. "My phone will be on if you need anything." Then he opened up the front door, braced himself for the whipping cold, and was gone within moments.

TT

Raven (the real Raven) could be found later that day sitting on top of the roof of Keith's apartment complex. Her knees were drawn up and she felt utterly protected from the cold, in shorts, sweatpants, a tank-top, a sweater, and a sweatshirt with the hood drawn up. She was watching the sun as it slowly dipped below the skyline of Jump City.

There was a slight rustling and in the blink of an eye, a red and black clad young man came to rest next to her. He was crouching down, his fingertips touching the rooftop, his heels raised, ready to take off at any moment. "Imagine meeting you here," he began softly, in his masked voice that sounded painfully familiar. One of his hands lifted from the ground to touch her cheek softly. She turned to face him, her eyes shining with emotion as he pulled off his mask.

"Imagine," she whispered in response, leaning into his touch. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on patrol," he told her. "Either to begin a crime or stop one, depending on my mood."

So, he wasn't all bad.

"Probably starting one today."

Ok, scratch that.

"Gabe..."

"Ok, so maybe I'll stop one or two along the way."

Raven sighed. He fell to his rear and crossed his arms over his knees, which were pulled to his chest. "That free spirit is going to get you in trouble one day," she commented sourly.

"Whatever turns you on, Rae-Face," he retorted, leaning towards her with a devilish smirk on his face.

Raven froze, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly ajar. She turned slowly to look at him. "What did you just call me?" she asked, horrified that anyone but her knew that nickname. And she knew Garfield had taken it to his grave, since he thought he was so clever for making it up.

"Rae-face?" he asked. "What's so wrong with that?"

She shook her head. "Uh nothing. It's just...I hate nicknames," she quickly lied. "Anyways, don't you have some crimes to stop or something?" She rushed him along, knowing Gabe would be home soon. He took something out of his belt and took a quick look at it.

"Oh, whoops, yea. I have somewhere to be," he told her, slipping the small object back into his belt. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips, leaving her with the undeniably sexy taste of cinnamon mixed with chocolate. "I'll be seeing you around, Rae."

She watched his back disappear as he disintegrated into the near-night. She stood and dusted herself off, before making the trek back down the staircase and into his apartment, number 13A. She plopped onto the couch and turned on the television just as Keith walked through the door. "Hey Rache," he called, tossing his jacket into the hall closet. "What've you been up to?"

"Not much," she responded, idly twirling her recently-washed hair around her finger. "Watching a little tv, you know." She crossed her legs, smoothing the fabric of her sweatpants.

"I just need to shower and get changed real quick and we can take my motorcycle down to the club," he told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Raven nodded, watching him cross the living room into the kitchen. "I'll be out in fifteen minutes." Raven, though, followed him into the bedroom, explaining she had to change. She threw on a black ruffled skirt and a three-quarter length violet shirt. Over it, she threw on her favorite dark grey sweatshirt. After slipping on flip-flops she went again to sit on the couch in the living room.

Keith was prompt; within fifteen minutes he came out of the bedroom in jeans and a black shirt, a jacket slung over his shoulder. He gave his head a little shake and water droplets went everywhere. Keith deposited his cell phone into his pocket. Raven turned off the television and stood, brushing off her outfit. She then immediately took his side. He slipped his arm around her waist. "We finally ready?" he asked, beginning to walk them out the door without waiting for an answer.

As they ventured into the cold, Raven's cell phone went off with a high-pitched ring. She dug it out of her sweatshirt pocket and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked, wondering who knew this number.

"Raven? Raven, have I contacted the right number? Raven, can you hear me?" an unmistakably naive voice sounded.

"Kori, what's wrong?" Raven asked, hating to use her 'real' name, but having no choice since Keith was right next to her.

"I was feeling the worry for you," she started on the other end. "You are ok?"

"I'm staying with Keith," Raven told her, looking up at him.

"Who is that?" he asked, leading them into the garage where his motorcycle was parked.

"It's my friend Kori. I don't think you've met her," Raven responded, hating that she had to lie. "Kori, I'm with Keith. He's going to work and I'm going with him."

"Please, Raven, let me come," Kori started, her voice growing more worried by the second. "I would like to see you, make sure you are ok. You can't rely on this stranger right now. You need a friend."

"Kori..." Raven trailed off.

"Raven..."

"Fine!" She gave in, and told her the name of the club that they would be at in about five minutes. "We'll be there soon. Come by the bar and you should find us. Later, Kor." She shut her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. "My friend Kori's going to stop by because I haven't seen her in a while."

Keith slipped on his helmet and handed one to Raven. "That's cool." Raven slipped on her helmet. "Can't wait to meet her. If she's one of your friends she's gotta be amazing." Keith slung his leg over the motorcycle and Raven precariously climbed on in back of him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she felt the thrill rush through her veins like it always did when she was on the back of a motorcycle.

He revved it up and took a sharp turn out of his parking space, passing by the back-up T-Car on the way. He took a turn onto the main street on which he both lived and worked. Raven held on tighter to his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Do you know how much I love motorcycles?" she yelled randomly over the roar of the wind.

"Because they make even the sexiest man even sexier?" he yelled back. Raven chuckled, but doubted he heard it.

They fell into a silence, listening to the wind whipping in their ears. He made a sharp turn into an alleyway next to the club. They pulled off their helmets and fixed their hair (Keith giving his a little shake, Raven running her hand through hers). Keith took her helmet and set them both down on the bike. He ran his hand through his hair and gave it another little shake, before wrapping his arm around Raven's waist.

They walked around the building and made their way to the front of a line beginning to accumulate before the entrance. "Hey Tiny," he began, greeting a large man who stood before the door. "It's my shift tonight, and she's with me," he started, pointing to Raven.

"Go ahead," he told them. "Have fun tonight."

"Oh, and when a tall girl announced as Kori, long red hair and green eyes, really thin, tries to get in, she'll be with us too so can you let her in?" Raven asked politely.

"Anything for you, cutie," he responded in a deep baritone voice. "Go on in."

"Thanks, Mo."

They entered the dark club, pulsing with music. Keith led Raven to behind the bar, to an area with a sink, a myriad of oddly labeled bottles, and many glasses, among other things. Someone came up to the bar right in front of them, leaning against it with a smirk. "Heyy Keith," the woman started in a flirtatious tone. "Blueberry martini, por favor."

"'Course Mariana," he responded, taking a few different bottles and mixing them altogether in a martini glass. He stuck an olive in it and handed it to the woman over the counter. "On your tab?" he asked. She nodded, taking a long sip.

"Amazing as ever, Keith," she responded, taking it and walking away.

"That's one of my regulars," he explained to Raven. "Loves Martinis, Daquiris, and Jagermeister on the rocks. Don't know why I said that but it couldn't hurt for you to know." Raven chuckled, watching him as he threw a small hand towel over his shoulder.

"Do you want to sit over there while you wait for your friend?" he asked, nodding to the other side of the bar. "I'll stir you up a sex on the beach."

"My favorite," Raven responded. "Don't let anyone know I'm underage." She gave him a short kiss.

Raven went back around the bar and took a seat in front of Keith, who was working his magic. He finished up the drink and slid it across the bar, letting Raven take a dainty sip before looking at her expectantly. "Well...?"

"It's amazing. Never had it better," she told him, taking another greedy sip.

A young man and woman came up next to Raven and ordered a pair of drinks, which Keith promptly made and gave to them. Raven looked around the dark club and saw a few of her friends, but all of them were too preoccupied to notice her. She was waiting for at least ten more minutes before an unmistakable red head popped up next to her. She looked normal, except the normally green parts of her eyes were white and her eyebrows looked very human.

"Oh. My. Kori!" Raven gasped, looking down. She was clothed in a purple halter that dipped way too low and came up way too far, as well as a very short fraying denim micro mini, paired with her thigh-high boots. "What in the world are you wearing?"

"The normal clothes? Do you not approve?" she asked, looking down at her outfit. Raven was about to have an aneurysm, so saying she did not approve was an understatement. Soon enough, Keith had joined them by Raven's side and was looking at Starfire with his eyebrows raised.

"Ah...Kori?" he asked, though he already knew very well who she was.

"Keith?" she asked, looking at Raven. Raven nodded, and could tell she was trying hard not to make any mistakes with her English. "It...s great to meet you," she started, using her first almost-contraction ever.

"Good to meet you too," Keith began, pulling her into a hug. "A friend of Rae's is a friend of mine." He looked to the empty space behind the bar. "I have to get back to work but I have a break in an hour. I'll come find you then, but for now go have some fun with your girlfriend."

"Ok, babe," she responded in a slight whisper so Starfire could not overhear them. He leaned down to kiss her and Raven's eyes averted to see Starfire looking at them, shocked. Raven turned back to Starfire as Keith walked away. "Look, Kor," Raven started, but unsure of what she would say. Raven took her hand and pulled her to a table that was situated next to the dance floor. She sat her down and took a seat real close.

"Raven, what is the up with you?" she asked. "This man, this Keith has turned you into something you're not!"

"I'm sorry, Star, but this is who I am now. If you don't like it, then..." Raven trailed off, not willing to say what they both knew was coming next.

"Raven, you are my best friend. I could never stop the being of friends with you for something this silly," Starfire responded. "But I warn you, be careful with this boy. You do not know anything about him!"

"I know enough, Star," Raven told her. "He's a great guy. He's helping me get over Beast Boy's death. Isn't that what you want for me?"

Starfire sighed as the current song came to an end. One of Rachael's friends, Danny, made a beeline towards the table and Raven noticed the hungry look in his eyes. Oh crap. "Hey Rache," he began, giving her a hug and pulling himself a chair. He sat backwards on it, his arms crossed over the top of the seat. "Who's your little friend here?"

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but Starfire beat her to it. "I am Kori. And you are...?"

"The name's Danny," he told her, his tone growing deeper. Oh dear God, he was NOT flirting with her. Blatantly, in front of Raven. Wasn't she seeing Robin anyways? Or did he not suck his pride up yet to ask her out?

"Nice to meet you, Danny," Kori began, holding out her hand for him to shake. With an eyebrow raised he shook her hand. "You are a friend of...Rachael's?" I thanked the lord that she remembered my 'normal' name.

"Yea," he replied, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "We go way back. I knew her when she was just a newbie to this club. Right Rachey?"

Raven shot him a smile. She could never be annoyed by him, especially since he put their little 'talk' on hold. Better never than now, Raven supposed. "Right Danny," she replied. "So, what brings you over here?"

"Well, Rache, I wanted to know if your cute lady friend wanted a dance with me?" He half-stated, half-asked. He turned to faced Kori, who was looking at him, appalled. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so Raven took this as her cue.

"She would love to dance with you," Raven started hurriedly, looking over his should at Kori who was now glaring at her.

"She would?" Dan asked, turning around to look at Kori.

Kori was silent for a minute. "Yes, she would."

Dan smiled wide, taking her hand and beginning to lead her out onto the dance floor. Kori turned around and started mouthing to Raven about how she had no idea how to dance like a normal teenager. "Go with the flow," Raven responded, but she had already disappeared into the mass of people as 'Maneater' by Nelly Furtado began to play.

They came to a halt in the middle of the crowd, pressed close together because of the amount of people around them. Starfire could feel his hips press into hers and his hands on the bare skin of her back. It sent shivers down her spine. "I'm afraid I don't know how to dance very well," Starfire began, her cheeks turning red for some unknown reason.

"It's ok," Dan responded, his hands sliding down her arms and taking her wrists. He draped her arms over his shoulders, his hands returning to her back. "I'm an amazing dancer, I'll teach you."

Raven was watching this exchange with interest once they had come into her view again. She stood and turned, watching Keith watch her from his spot behind the bar. She sauntered towards him, which turned into a gallop. She sat on one of the stools in front of him, leaning her head against her palm. "Hey there."

"Kori's out there dancing with Dan?" Keith asked, smirking slightly. "That's cute."

"Yea, it is. Kori doesn't get out much." Or ever. "It's kinda sad to see her locked up like that all the time, but it's great to see her enjoying herself."

"Better not let Robin see that. He'll have a conniption," Keith stated casually, cleaning out a martini glass. His eyes were pointed downward, so when Raven whirled around to look at him he did not notice.

"What did you just say?" Raven asked, swearing she could've heard him say Robin.

"I said Robin'll have a conniption. He's one of my good friends, and he's always the first to dance with the newbie," Keith explained, setting the clean glass down on the counter. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Oh," Raven firstly said, again swearing that he had found her out. "No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Ok, babe," he responded, setting his hands on the counter. "I hope you're having fun. I'd feel horrible if I dragged you to work and you weren't having fun, especially with one of your friends here."

"Oh, Keith!" Raven exclaimed. "Don't worry, I'm having fun." To prove her point she shifted to her knees and leaned over the counter to give him a deep kiss. When she pulled away, she only pulled away a short distance so she could whisper, "And Kori is too". She picked up her hand slung it around his shoulder as she kissed him again, deeper this time. When she finally pulled away, she couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth, but they felt right either way. "I love you, Keith."

"I love you too, Rae-Rae."

She sent him a shy smile and made her way back to the table so she could assure herself that Kori wasn't making a fool of herself. As she walked away, Mariana, the previous customer, swaggered forward and slammed her martini glass on the counter. "Keith! Anotherrr martini por favor! I needs me some drinky drinky!" Are you surprised this was her ninth Martini of the night, third at this bar?

"I think you're over your limit, Mariana," he told her gently.

"I'll tell you when I'm done, damnit!" she screamed. "Give me my drinky drinky!"

He hesitantly prepared a martini, though he knew he was cutting her off after this. "That Rachael!" she began to slur as she sat in the seat before him, her face in her palms. "She's a sly one! She fthinks she's so g'damn inn'cent. Lucky little birtch getting you when ever'one else want s'you!"

"Mariana," Keith began to plead. "Don't say that."

"_She's a maneater_!" Mariana proclaimed, slamming her empty glass down again. "_Make you buy cars, make you cut cards, make you fall real hard in love_!"

Keith nodded his head to himself. Stupid drunks.

**TT**


	19. I Write Sins Not Tragedies

**A/N**: I love you!**  
**

** Disclaimer**: I own neither Teen Titans nor Panic! At The Disco.

**TT**

**I Write Sins, Not Tragedies **

Starfire danced well into the night with her newfound friend. She had cantered over to Raven and pronounced her love for the Earthly custom of dancing, and all Raven did was smile and nod. Keith took his twenty minute break to have a dance with Raven and they sidled up next to Starfire and Dan who were deep into the music, moving in sync. Kori had a small smile upon her face and Dan looked as if he were absolutely bursting with happiness to have such a vixen in his arms. Starfire looked to Raven and gave a little wink, just as a new song began to play. Raven vaguely knew it as 'Everytime We Touch', by who, she did not know.

They were dancing close, halfway through the song when Starfire let out a little gasp. "S-Kori?" Raven began, catching her mistake quickly. "What's wrong?"

"R-R-Richard," she stumbled through her words. Raven knew who she was talking about as she threw her head to the side. She was motioning to a figure standing near the entrance. Said figure had his head bowed, tufts of black hair falling over a pair of dark sunglasses, leaned up against a wall with his arms over his chest and one foot against the wall behind him. A utility belt was well-concealed to the human eye under a black tee-shirt and a black jacket.

"What's he doing here?" Raven hissed back at her, continuing to dance with Keith as if nothing was wrong.

"He must have realized I was not there," she responded, biting her lip. "How did he find me here?"

"He's tracking you," Raven whispered when their partners had led them so they were back to back. Raven turned back to Keith who concealed the fact that he was also watching the figure in the corner.

The two girls tried to ignore the fact that they were being watched, inadvertently. "Keith, can you make me and Kor a drink?" she asked, hoping that going through a crowd would make Robin lose sight of them. "We're kind of thirsty."

"Anything for you, babe," he responded. Keith took her hand and pulled her through the crowd, unnecessarily weaving in and out of people. Starfire and Dan were following behind her, Starfire dragging Dan along by the hand. Keith ducked behind the bar and the other three took seats in front of him. Starfire turned to see that the shadow by the corner was now interested in searching through the group of people on the dance floor.

"He lost us," she whispered to Raven. Raven sighed.

"Two Strawberry Daquiris please," she asked of him. He easily began to prepare them and Starfire fell into conversation with her new dance partner. Raven turned and looked at Dan, who was smiling broadly. It wasn't long before two drinks were slid in front of her and Starfire. "Thanks." Starfire nursed hers gently, as Keith slid a drink towards Dan. He was about to pick it up before someone had bumped him and sent him towards Starfire.

"Oh, sorry, man," the person who had bumped him responded, and proceeded to lean over the bar. He gave Keith a good once-over before tapping the glass of the bar and placing his order. "A White Russian, no ice."

"Comin' up," Keith responded. He looked up towards the figure who Raven had now identified as Robin. She tried to hide her face by cupping her cheek and turning away from him, but he wasn't even looking her way. He was watching Keith intently, his every move, his every twitch. Keith slid the glass towards him, and Robin pulled out a few folded singles. But what was concealed inside was much more than all the money in the world.

Keith turned towards the sink and faked washing his hands, but instead opening up the piece of paper this stranger gave him.

_I know who you are. The alleyway, five minutes._

Keith ripped up the paper and sent it down the drain, hoping no one would ever see it again. "I'll be right back, Rae," Keith told her, before stealing away towards the rooftop entrance. He easily climbed up the stairs and once he hit the top he began pulling off articles of clothing to reveal the costume that had become second skin. He pulled out his mask from his utility belt and slid it over his blonde hair.

With ease and agility he ran to the edge of the rooftop and was able to free-fall until five feet from the ground. He used a grappling hook to land safely down on the pavement below. "Where are you?" he began to yell, looking all around. "Come out and fight like a man!"

He heard the slightest whip and he jerked to the side just in time to avoid a foot to his ear. He landed gracefully and was up in seconds to retaliate against his multi-colored foe. "Stop!" He yelled, still assuming the defensive stance. "Why were you tracking me? I wasn't doing anyone harm. I wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"You're the biggest threat to us at the moment. Any second you're not in jail is wasted time. I know you're in the same league as Slade. Don't deny it," the masked hero snarled. "I've been following you and Slade all over the city, and I've finally been able to track you to this exact location."

"I'm not working with Slade!" he exclaimed incredulously. "I'm trying to get rid of Slade!" They circled each other. "He's trying to do away with the people I care about! Believe it or not, I actually have feelings, bird boy."

His muscles relaxed a bit and they stopped circling each other. Both of them had already sized up the fight before them. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

The bird-boy's foe darted forward and with ease ripped off the right sleeve of his uniform. It revealed the small, almost indecipherable tattoo of Slade, a souvenir from Robin's apprenticeship. Red X ripped off his own right sleeve to show that there was nothing there. "Before I joined leagues with him he would have branded me. I swear on my life I would never help Slade."

Robin's eyes slitted. "What can you tell me?"

"He's planning an attack on the Northwestern Imprisonment Facility, to let out some of the city's most dangerous criminals. If you can stop it, you can delay his plans, maybe long enough to do away with him for good." Red X circled him. Behind them, a door snapped open and Raven came sliding out.

"Raven!" Robin shouted, alarmed at seeing her looking normal, and at seeing her somewhere where she should not be. "Wait, Rachael?" He knew very well her alias.

"Raven?!" Red X let slip. His voice was not surprised, only insistent.

Raven put together the pieces of the puzzle. "Oh my...Keith?!"

Robin snapped around to look at Red X. "Keith?! Who's Keith?!"

Starfire slid up behind Raven and looked out into the alleyway in front of them. "Robin!" She started, then looked to Red X. She gasped. "He is...He is..." Starfire's eyes went wide. "Oh... I feel..." She fell backwards and Raven reacted just quickly enough to catch her and set her down. Robin darted forward to pick her up and examine her quickly.

"Raven., I want you home, now!" Robin demanded in a snarl, taking Starfire out into the alleyway and disappearing into the dark. Once he disappeared from sight she turned back to Keith...Gabe...Red X, whatever you wanted to call him at the moment. She cantered forward and ripped off his mask, throwing it onto the ground. The eyes that met her were the soft blue of Gabe's.

"G-Gabe?" she started unsurely.

"It's been me all along," he spoke. "I lead a triple life. Gabe by day, Red X by night, and Keith when I need to get away from the suspecting eyes of people like Robin."

"How do you change your appearance?" Raven asked, looking up at him with her brows furrowed.

"The Xynothium in my blood can allow me to do anything my mind wills. From changing appearance, to appearing out of thin air," he lied. "I figured you would discover me out. I knew I would somehow let slip that I knew it was you."

"You knew it was me?" she asked, pulling off her pinky ring and instantly forming into Raven of the Teen Titans. "How did you know?"

"Your ring, whatever it does to you, came off last night while you were sleeping. I saw you, then saw the ring off your finger. I put two and two together, then slipped it back on to prove my assumption. I realized I was an idiot for not figuring it out." There was a silence in which he sighed. "Please don't be mad at me."

Raven furrowed her brow, turned on her heel, and began to fly towards the brightly lit T in the sky.

**TT**

Robin and Starfire were arguing when Raven arrived home. She stood outside the open living room door, pressed against the wall so no one would see her. The gothic girl was silent as night as she listened in to their heated conversation.

"She's been seeing the enemy, Star!" Robin yelled with anger rising in his tone. "Something needs to be done about that! We can't just let her become susceptible to the world around her!" You could hear his metal boots on the floor as he paced back and forth.

"He cares about her, Robin. I have seen them together, and he is the most loving person. He could be just the thing she needs right now to pull out of her slump. He could make her forget about Beast Boy," Starfire retaliated. "He may be a bad person, but he has a heart of gold. Let them be together, Robin."

"He does not have a heart of gold! He's using her! I wish someone in this tower would see that! He's using her to get to the rest of us! He's working with Slade!" Though Robin had been disproved, he would not let his theory go.

"Robin," her tone got softer. Raven peeked around the door to see she had taken his hands and was now looking him straight in the eye. "I did not lose faith in you when you were working for Slade. If these accusations are indeed true, let us not lose faith."

"But-" Robin began to protest.

"Have faith, Robin," she whispered. Starfire leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, and Raven knew this was sort of a bribe. If she could buy more time by bribing Robin with her love, Raven would be able to show them how good Red X really could be. Starfire would die to help her friend.

"_Haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door_!?" Raven began to shout, walking through the doorway with a quick stride. "I've been listening to you two go on and on, without me even having a say in it!"

She came up to rest her hands against the back of the couch. "Raven, do you have something you need to say?" Robin asked antagonizing-ly.

"It's not fair," she began to cry in exasperation. "It's not fair that I get someone special taken away so harshly and then you forbid me from seeing the next best thing? It would be like me not allowing you to see Starfire, then telling you never to love again." Robin promptly turned pink in the cheeks. "Would you just take that from me without a fight."

"No I would not," he replied stolidly. "But that is much different."

"You know what?" Raven began. "Save it. I don't want to hear this from you." Raven went to the door and stopped for just a second. "Where's Cyborg?"

"I sent him to retrieve the back-up T-Car. We got a lock on it and he's on his way now," Robin responded, deflated.

"Raven, do not do this," Starfire started desperately, starting after her best friend. She turned on Robin, scowling like no one had ever seen her scowl before. "Robin, what is your malfunctioning?"

Robin choked on air. "Excuse me?"

"Raven is happy. Can you not see this? It does not matter if he is good or bad, he treats her like she should be treated. He makes her smile. Have you seen her smile like it is contagious the past few days?" Starfire asked, taking on a defensive stance. "Robin, do not do this to yourself and the others around you. You do this, and I shall have no choice but to stop seeing you. If you do this, I have no idea what else you may believe that I oppose."

Raven severely wanted to clap at that moment, but she held back.

"Starfire, no..." he protested weakly, staring blankly at her through his dark sunglasses.

"Robin, decide what is more important to you, me or those criminals you constantly obsess about," Starfire told him softly, turning and floating from the room. No one could see the tears she was wiping away.

"She's right," Raven began, looking Robin in the eye. "You take life too seriously that you're beginning to shut people out. And one of those people, who cares about you the most, can't take it anymore. Think about what you're doing to the people around you when you do the things you do."

Robin watched Raven's retreating back, as he was left alone in the living room.

**TT**


	20. Say Ok

**A/N**: Yea. I'm sorry. You know how hectic Lacrosse season is for me. It's hard to get done everything I want to get done. Urghh. Anyways, expect faster updates from me, because I'm wanting to get this story done sooner raher than later. I hate keeping y'all waiting.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vanessa Hudgens or the Teen Titans. I wish.

**TT**

**Say Ok**

Raven woke up the next morning lying in her own bed for the first time in a while. She turned and watched the gray sky, noting an impending storm. She had dreamed the most wonderful dream, that Garfield had never really died and they danced the night away. Of course it had only been a dream, but Raven felt more and more everyday as if Gar was still really alive. She felt as if he never died. And for the first time since his death, she needed to meditate.

She sat up and crossed her legs, settling herself into her meditative position. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She felt her soul and her body rip apart painlessly. She felt the sensation as if floating through air and forced her soul to meditate along with her body.

"Garfield," she forced herself to try and make a connection with his soul. "Where are you? I know you're not dead, now come back to me!"

There was a long silence. Could've been minutes, could've been hours. He didn't answer. Raven was about to give up.

"Raven?" his voice whispered. "Raven? Are you still there?"

"Garfield? Beast Boy?"

"I'm here, Rae," he started to speak.

She could not see him, but she could hear him clearly. If her soul self could feel, she was sure her heart would be breaking in two and repairing itself right at this moment.

"I know you're alive. Don't you dare try to fool me anymore. I'm not an idiot. You took my intelligence for granted and think I would never uncover the truth about your death. How is it possible that you could break the window's handle? What's the possibility tha your ring wouldn't come off when only days before you claimed it was too big. What are the odds that driving into the bay would make no tracks in the grass or sand whatsoever or be washed away in a matter of-what?-four days?" she asked him.

"Rae, it's complicated," his voice rasped. "Really complicated. You can't even begin to ponder what I've been through. It's not just you that's been affected by this."

There was a moment of silence in which Raven let his words sink in.

"Meet me back in your room. I'll explain everything. Just...don't be mad."

Raven felt herself slipping away, a sort-of tug at her navel that led her to fall back onto her bed. She looked to her clock (9:06 A.M.) before her eyes closed. With ease she rested her head in her pillow. This was all too much. She felt tears welling behind her eyelids.

"Hey beautiful."

Raven shot up. There he was...Garfield, Gabe, Red X, Keith, Beast Boy. Five different men all rolled into one very deceiving package. But no matter what, in any instance, she still would do what she did next. With a newfound force she jumped off her bed and attacked him in a fierce embrace.

"Beast Boy...Gabe...Keith, whatever the hell your name is," she cried, tears flowing now freely from her eyes. "Oh Lord I missed you so bad."

She pulled back and looked deep into his features. He was currently Beast Boy, the green runt she knew for a good portion of her life. Her hands cupped his cheeks as she smiled at the face she had missed so terribly. His smile mirrored hers.

"I missed you too. Or, more likely, I missed being Beast Boy with you."

"Yea. That's kind-of something you need to explain."

He took her hand and led her to the bed. With delicacy they both sat, his hands covering both of hers.

"It was a little while ago that I found out that I could change my appearance. I realied that I did not have to stay green. And since humans are animals, that meant I could willfully change my appearance. The only drawback is that changing my appearance could drain my power greatly. An estimated four or five hours before passing out. When I was in my Red X suit, I was constantly in my Beast Boy form to regain power," he explained.

"Well, that helps," Raven started, stroking his hand with her thumb. "But, everything's still not explained."

"I found Red X one day after a battle with Slade. Seems he was not only helping himself, but helping us too. He was dying, Rae. There was nothing I could do. His last wish was to have someone take his place. And just around this time, Slade found out about how much I care about you. He threatened to use you against me if I didn't quit the Titans and never look back. I assumed the identity of Red X and faked my death so he wouldn't hurt you. I knew it was cleaner than just running away, so then you wouldn't ask questions. Ever since then, I've been patrolling Jump City as Red X. I've been waiting for the time to strike Slade, bu it hasn't come yet."

Then, Raven vaguly remembered something Red X had once said.

"Remember when you told me that...actually, you inadvertantly told me that Slade was after me?" she questioned, halting his fidgeting hands. "What was that about?"

"He went back on our deal. His plan is to take out all of the Titans. Even with this going on, though, I couldn't come back. I had to stay out there and protect the four of you from afar. I had to do it, Rae, for your own good."

"I understand," although she really didn't. "Just promise me you won't leave me again like you did. You have no clue what it did to me."

Just then, a black ball of fur came tumbling through the slightly cracked window (which was cracked for just that reason). It tumbled into Raven's lap and began to tweet incessantly, as if crooning to a melanhcoly ballad. Raven picked Garfield up in her hands and realized he had burs and thorns and matted liquid (his feathers were so dark she could not tell what it was) in his normally glossy coat.

"Oh, Garfield!" she gasped.

"What?" He asked, not knowing any better.

"No, Garfield," she emphasized, holding out the little bird. "He's hurt."

Raven cradled him in her hands and began to float towards her bathroom. Garfield, befuddled and bemused, stood up and slowly followed her. When he entered the bathroom, he found her picking these burrs and thorns out of his coat, while wiping him down with hot water from the faucet.

"Is he ok?" Garfield asked, coming up next to her.

"I don't know. He must've took a tumble in the storm."

It was true. Since Raven had gone into her medatitive state, a dangerous storm had begun. Garfields fingers gently passed over his dripping coat and felt the spots most prone to injuries. His fingers pulled away when he reached the bird's wing.

"I think his wing is broken. You would know beter than me. Take a look."

Raven looked closer, and indeed his wing was bent slightly in an awkward position. Her eyes closed, willing away tears at her little friend being hurt so badly. With ease one glowing hand passed over the wing and it repaired itself.

"So...this is Garfield?" he asked.

"Yea," she whispered. "I found him the day we found you...in the river."

Raven looked up to him, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't want to know what I had to do to pull that off," he recalled, shuddering. "Just, don't ask, please."

Raven agreed to leave the matter at that. The little bird hooted happily once she had picked the last of the burrs out of his coat. He stood and shook himself, flapping his wings. His left wing was noticeably strained.

"He says thanks," Garfield noted as he tweeted softly.

Raven smiled sadly, then looked into the mirror to see Garfield watching her through the reflective glass. She turned her eyes away, nervous to be holding his gaze in such an awkward moment. She gathered Garfield in her hands and brought him back into her room, resting him on her pillow. He burrowed happily and soon it seemed as if he was asleep.

"What are you going to do now?" Raven asked the man standing before her.

He was most certainly not the Beast Boy she knew. He was older, matured, tired, hard-working. He was a man of many years past his true age of seventeen. He looked even wider than he was in a loose-fitting oxford and a pair of loose bluejeans. His green hair was much longer than it had been a few months before, but then again, his hair tended to grow faster than normal. With much emotion his eyes stilll swam, but they were no longer wide and open to the world. He seemed as if he knew all he needed to know about the world; that not everything is perfect.

"I'm going back to being Red X. There's nothing I can do until Slade is gone, Rae. I can't come back to the Titans, not now at least. I need time t work things out, to get Robin on my side, to try and bring him down. I can't let him hurt my friends." His tone was so determined and serious that Raven was almost scared.

There was a soft knock at her door, and they both turned with wide eyes towards the slab of steel.

"Hold on a second!" Raven called, and then looked at Garfield.

"I'll be back soon. I need to take care of some business."

He grabbed her wrist and led her to the cracked window. Rain had been blowing in her room and now the carpet under their feet was soaked. He stood there for a second, staring at her with his wisened bottle-green eyes. With a surge of confidence, Raven leaned forward and let their lips connect. Tears began to fall from her eyes and melded with their innocent kiss. She touched his cheeks and then pulled away, her thumbs caressing his skin.

"_When you're close, I don't breathe, I can find no words to speak. I feel sparks_," she started before she could stop the words from her lips. "I think I love you."

He smiled, reaching for the back of her neck to softly kiss her forehead. "I'll see you soon, Rae."

He backed up a few feet and then disappeared with a "pop" before her eyes. She wouldn't have believed it if she did not see it.

"Raven!" Someone called urgently at her door.

"Coming!" she snapped.

With a lightened heart, she jogged over to her door and pressed the large green button for it to slide open. She met Cyborg's chest on the other side and had to crane her neck upwards.

"Cy? Are you crying?" Raven asked, her lightened heart now falling to her stomach.

"Raven, Robin's been attacked."

**TT**


	21. Here In Your Arms

**A/N**: I'm so very irregular with my updates, I know. I'm working on an update for each story so hopefully they'll all be up soon. I've just been so busy it's not good. And I think I've broken my finger, which inhibits my typing abilities :(. **EDIT**: I accidentally wrote this chapter in first person and didn't realize it until I uploaded. Next chapter I'm switching back to third person.

**Disclaimer**: You know the drill. Teen Titans is not mine.

**Here In Your Arms**

The rain came down hard around us. It was stinging my skin, and soon enough I was numb enough so I could no longer feel the steps I took. The large red letters twinkling 'Emergency' flashed in my mind and burned as much like fire as they appeared. I held Star's hand tightly because I knew that, as crushed as I felt in this moment, Star must've felt thirty times worse. She must've felt as if she should've been there, done something, stopped him; something like how I felt when I found out Beast Boy was dead. I gripped her hand harder, reliving that feeling of utter desolateness, to let her know that all was not lost. She squeezed back, but I barely felt it.

"Come on, hurry," Cyborg started, ushering us both into the emergency room waiting room.

Starfire held her face in her hands, stumbling into one of the thread-bare, off-white seats. The bright white reflecting off the walls was mocking us, somehow hoping to comfort us with it's intense luminosity. Of course, it didn't work. I was vaguely beginning to wonder if it ever did. I watched Cyborg go up to the front desk as my arm wormed around the sobbing alien's shoulders. She turned to me and began crying even harder into my shoulder.

After crying herself near dry, Cyborg solemnly walked back over.

"He's...uh..." he seemed to be saying something different, but then stopped and started his next sentence. "We can see him now."

Star stood up (well, I mostly pulled her up) and we followed Cyborg and a bright white nurse towards doors marked "emergency personnel only". Star began crying so hard that her sobs turned into deadly coughs. I patted her back gently, and she gave a hoarse cough that shook the hopsital to its foundation. The nurse stumbled a bit but continued to walk as if nothing had happened. Cyborg joined me on the other side of Starfire.

It didn't take long to figure that the door being heavily guarded by two large officers was the door we would find our boy wonder behind.

"Try to be quiet," the nurse started gravely, but looking pointedly at Starfire (the alien turned red and tried to stop a brand new flow of tears).

We gathered around his bed. He was laying there, half of his face bandaged and the other half red and blistered, covered in a plasma-like medication. His arms, bare of clothing, continued on, red and blistered, covered in the same medication. One of his hands was black. His opposite wrist was wrapped in a bandage. There were blue stitches, uncovered by a bandage, rolling deep across the top of his pectoral muscles.

Star fell into a large off-white chair and began to sob all over again.

"He's comatose," the nurse began. "We're...do you want to hear the worst?" she asked, picking up the clipboard at the foot of his bed.

Star began to cry harder.

"We want to hear the truth," Cyborg responded for all of us, though I didn't really prefer the truth.

I sank into a chair next to Starfire as the nurse took a shaking breath.

"He sustained massive injuries. We're not sure if he'll ever be able to use that hand again. Half the skin of his face is burned off, so he'll need a reconstructive surgery if he wakes up. As-"

"Wait, what?" Cyborg challenged. "_If_ he wakes up?"

"We're not sure, as it is now, if he will wake up or not. Of course we will not be taking him off life support for a good long while as we would, honoring wishes of other citizens, but he might be comatose for the rest of his life. And..." she hesitated. "We're not sure of his mental state if he wakes up. We're led to believe he may have lost many brain cells during the battle and might be...well-please don't make me say it."

Starfire cried out loud and filled her hands with tears. I rubbed her back gently. We all knew what she was trying to say.

"Robin!" she sobbed. "He is-strong! He will be ok. He must be ok!"

She dropped her head onto his bedside and sobbed into his sheets. She was a very pathetic person (A/N: the word pathetic comes from the word pathos meaning emotion, so when I say pathetic, I mean emotional. Not the negative connotation of the word meaning silly or stupid.)

"I need to...I need to go to the bathroom," I excused, not being able to handle to pounding rain outside and Star's heavy sobs followed by Cyborg's consistent beeping. "I'll be..."

I didn't bother to finish my sentence before wafting from the room, eerily serene for someone in my situation.

The hallway lights flickered as I strode towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. I felt something like ice wrap around my arms. An abnormally cold wind in such a closed space. The lights flickered again. I heard a sound like gas hissing from a broken pipe and turned every which way, sensing danger. My guard fell, though, once I saw the encased onyx face of Red X peeking out from behind a hopsital room door. I looked each way and cantered quickly inside, my frist thoughts as to how he managed to find me here.

"Raven," he sighed as I fell into his arms, hugging him tightly.

So the tears began to fall. My hand encased his cheek under his mask, eager to touch his warm skin (and hopefully salty tears) to remind me that I wasn't the only one feeling this pain. I felt the moist cheeks beneath his facade and breathed deeply. I'm not the only one.

"How is he?" he asked, holding the back of my head whilst his other arm wrapped protectively around me. I felt safe with his small yet powerful muscles entangled about me.

"They don't think he's going to wake up. He sustained major head injuries. He's burnt all over. It's awful, Garfield."

He pressed his mouth against my shoulder, still somewhat damp from the rain. My hand fell to his chest, feeling his rapidly beating heart. That was another thing we had in common at the moment.

"I can't help seeing his face. His mangled face, half of it raw flesh."

"But how do you know?" I asked curiously, my eyebrows furrowing out of instinct.

"I saved him, Rave. I saved him from the fire that Slade ordered Plasmus to cause. He was there before any of you all were, because I had given him the tip-off. It was all my fault he was there."

"But you saved him. That must count for something."

"Not if I didn't save him in time."

Neither of us wanted to think about that possibility.

"We'll stop him. I promise," I cried, the most emotion I had shown in a long while. "Don't ever give up, Gar."

"Not with you by my side. Never with you on my side," he reassured me.

I bit my lip and pulled away from our lengthy embrace, wondering if I should tell him all I had been thinking. He seemed to notice I was preoccupied and tilted my chin upwards.

"Raven?"

And yet.

I chewed on the skin. He looked at me, head cocked, concern brimming those wonderful emerald eyes.

"I'm fine, really," I started, too convincing for my own good.

And yet, he was still not convinced.

"I'll come see you later on...maybe tonight. I have some business to take care of."

"You always have business to take care of," I started, my words muffled into his shoulderas we embraced once more. "BB, I just need someone to be here with me right now. I need someone to help me through this. A weight is lifted knowing you're here, you're alive, but everything else that can gone wrong has. Robin is dying in a hopsital bed. There's three able-body Titans left. We need all the help we can get."

"And I'll be there every step of the way."

He rested his lips on my forehead. I leaned into him.

"Good. _There's no place else I could be but here in your arms_."

I could feel him smile sadly against my skin.

"Until tonight," he whispered.

I watched him step back, towards the window, towards the carnage on the other side. I had heard a fierce lightning bolt crack in the distance only moments before, and feared he would not make it. But then I remembered, he was strong.

He looked back, his eyes brimmed with emotion.

I smiled, feeling the gem on my chest turn warm, and my heart rise into my throat.

"Goodbye."

**Here In Your Arms**

Cyborg and I left long after the rain had subsided. We gave Starfire the rest of the day so she could say anything she wanted without being disrupted by us. We both knew she had a lot of air to clear, even if he wasn't conscious to hear it. I held Cyborg's hand in mine, looking for some strength, as we made our way up to the kitchen for a late lunch. I didn't feel much like eating at the moment, so I had a cup of tea. Cyborg must've really been depressed because he did not eat either (and tried to deny the grumbling of his stomach).

I sat in my room, meditating. Although not necessary with my amulet, it helped to calm me. I heard the sliding of a window and a light gust of air entered my room. There was a 'whoosh' and a light thud unto my carpet.

"What time is it?" I asked aloud, very aware of his presence.

"About six," he started, and I heard another thud.

I peeled open my eyes to see he had taken a seat on his rear on the carpet, his face devoid of a mask.

"I have to keep up appearances, Raven. I have a concert tonight that I have to go to. Jared and Tommy already suspect there's something up with me. I can't seem suspicious and give my secret away anymore. I'm telling them that I'm moving away in two days, but for now, I have to stay as normal as possible. Everyone already thinks Keith has gone to medical school in India."

"I understand."

"I would rather do anything but play tonight though..." he hesitated. "Will you come with me? Make me feel a bit more comfortable?"

I thought about it for a minute. I wouldn't mind getting away. I wouldn't mind being with Garfield for the night. I gave a slight nod then smiled nervously.

"Sounds...sounds good."

I didn't tell the Titans. Or what was left of them. Star and Cy thought I had gone to bed, but Beast Boy knew better. I sat behind him, curled safely into his warm body as we navigated the streets of Jump City. I curled my arms tight around his waist, my fingers grazing over his stomach. The simple act of my cheek nuzzling his shoulder filled us both to the very brim with a strange feeling we had long since forgotten.

Adam greeted us affectionately at the door. He sent me his pity, having heard about Robin ("And right after Beast Boy, too. He was my favorite"). Garfield put his hand on my lower back and gently shuttled me towards the stage at the not-yet-rocking club. I felt safe; protected somehow. I looked into his unfamiliar yet warm baby blue eyes and knew why.

"We're the firs band to play. After this I'll make some small talk and we can leave right away. I don't want you to be far from the tower when Robin's in the condition he is."

I nodded mutely.

"I'll be right back."

He left me sitting in an old armchair, watching as he hopped up on stage. He grabbed his guitar from a stand near the lead microphone. For a good five minutes he stood there, warming up his voice and tuning his guitar, while his other bandmembersdid the same. Raven now knew them as the lead bassist, Jimmy, the second guitarist, Derrick, the drummer, Blaze, and the keyboardist, Thom (pronounced 'Tom', he's very OCD about the spelling of his name).

"Found Me Again," he announced, and the crowd cheered. "This one's for you, Rae," he said into the microphone, his eyes boring into mine.

I turned away and blushed, unnoticed in this dark crowd.

"One, two, one, two, three, four!"

It was a slow and sweet melody. I couldn't hear most of the lyrics, but I did catch a single line. It went something like "I left without a trace but you could match my pace, you were right there when no one else was, I was dead until you found me again".

"I was lost among men, but you found me again," He coed sweetly into the microphone, the last strum of his guitar dying against the walls.

His eyes almost seemed to be glistening.

**Here In Your Arms**


	22. I Will Follow You Into the Dark

So, its been like almost three years since I last updated….but promise IM ALIVE! And because of this minor detail I am going to updating a lot and hopefully finish this story within a month or two! Yay! Anyways, onwards with the story! By the way, the song for the chapter is I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. It made me cry the first time I listened to it. I highly suggest listening to it if you have not before.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or Death Cab for Cutie (oh geez how i wish i did)

**TT**

After the show, Raven came back to the tower in a daze. She could not feel anything: her suit against her skin, the leather of the T-Car's seats, the roughness of the keypad to enter her room, even the steps she was taking were all replaced by a numb, tingling feeling. She had not shed a single tear, but instead grieved for her teammate in the opposite fashion. She was like a ghost moving through the tower, as if she weren't really there. As if it were a dream.

Oh God, how she wished it were a dream.

And if she felt like this, imagine how Starfire must feel. Her heart went out the poor alien, who was faced with the possibility of losing her true love. Raven had been there once, and completely understood her pain. Except Raven's love came back to her, against all odds. Starfire might not be so lucky.

_If he wakes up….many brain cells were damaged, we fear for his mental state…._

The nurse's speech kept replaying in her head like a broken record.

_He may never be able to use that hand again…half the flesh on his face was burnt off….reconstructive surgery…._

Raven was scheduled for overtime healing sessions with him. Hopefully it would make at least a dent in the damage his body had suffered. It might not help at all. Her powers were only useful to an extent. The injuries Robin sustained could kill her if she attempted to heal him fully.

Yet, how awful would it be for her to sacrifice herself so he could live? She pondered the thought. Robin was like her brother; closer than a blood relative could ever be. He knew her, inside and out. He knew every ghost she hid in her well-locked closet. Even Beast Boy couldn't claim that kind of knowledge of his gothic beauty.

Raven kicked off her boots, removed her cape, and slid off her leotard. She still couldn't feel a thing. Her skin was like ice. Her hands shook with every tiny movement. Not even the tiniest part of her wanted to cry, but she wished she could make herself do so. At least then she would feel something. She felt nothing. Nothing but emptiness.

She grabbed a white wifebeater form her closet and slid it over her head. The hot nights lately had been causing her to sleep only in her underwear and a thin shirt. Though it was just the beginning of December, the night air coming in from the window was hot and muggy. Thank you, global warming.

Raven walked to the window and shut it with a resounding slam. She didn't even flinch.

"You're so lucky I decided not to use the window tonight. You coulda taken my head off," came Garfield's voice after the small pop that signaled his appearance. Raven didn't turn around to look at him, just stood at the window and hung her head. A sign escaped her chapped lips.

"Rae," he spoke softly. She could barely hear his footsteps across the carpet. In moments he was behind her, close, but not touching her. His breath was against her neck. She almost felt his hand as it moved to her shoulder. Centimeters away it stopped, hesitated. He brought it back to his side.

"Why?" was the one word that escaped her lips. "Why him?"

"And it's all my fault."

At this, Raven turned quickly and looked up into his bright green eyes, glistening with tears that threatened to fault.

"If it hadn't been him, it would've been you. One of you would have been hurt either way. And if he hadn't been there, no one would've been there to save _you_. You should be counting your blessings and realize how lucky you are. You were there to save him."

"I signed his death warrant, Raven. I wish you would see that!" His voice was getting louder now.

"No you didn't! He's going to be fine! I'll make sure of that," her voice rose as well, but with the last sentence it grew suddenly quiet. "He'll be ok."

Garfield sighed and raked a hand through his hair. It had gotten so haphazardly long since she'd last really seen him in true form. He looked so much older, his face had grown thin and she swore he was at least three inches taller. It was as if he were 20 instead of 17.

"Come here, Rae."

He opened up his arms to her and she gladly fell into them. Her body melted into his as he took her gently, one hand pressing against her head. His lips touched her hair for a brief moment.

"Please tell me you're staying the night."

"I will always be around for as long as you want me. Don't forget that."

He hoisted her up bridal style. She did not argue, only sunk into his arms as he carried her to bed. Gently, he laid her down and pulled back the covers to slide up and over her body. She snuggled in, hoping to feel the cool silk against her flesh. It didn't work, and she still felt nothing.

Garfield slipped in wordlessly next to her, pulling her into his body. She just barely felt the warmth of his body. He kissed her forehead tenderly, before laying his own head down. There had been enough commotion for one night. He was ready for sleep.

They were both fast asleep in minutes. The day had drained them both.

**TT**

Raven awoke the next morning to see Garfield's shirtless back walking towards her bathroom. Her eyes immediately latched upon the bright red, blistering scorch mark spanning from his left shoulder to his right hip. She gasped.

He about-faced and noticeably winced. His right leg buckled only slightly, but it was enough for her to notice.

"Garfield, how come you didn't tell me?" She thought for a moment how strange it was she was now more comfortable calling him Garfield rather than Beast Boy. Then again, he was no longer Beast Boy. Beast Boy was dead.

"I didn't want to worry you. It didn't bother me at all last night, but this morning it was blistering and…I has to wash it out. I used your shower, I hope that's ok."

"You should have told me."

His look was sheepish and apologetic all rolled into one. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you. You had enough on your mind already."

He walked with the slightest limp over to her bed. She couldn't help but notice haw large he had gotten. His muscles, though nothing in comparison to Cyborg's, were well-defined. His abdomen still had the scar from the fight with Overload (which she deduced had caused it, instead of that machinery bullcrap). In fact, he had tiny scars everywhere. Fighting took a toll on him, apparently.

"What happened to your leg?"

"It's a long story. I think I fucked up my knee. Stupid Plasmus," was all he gave.

He took a seat on the edge of her bed, pulling his right leg up so it extended out. She crawled out of the covers to take a better look at his back. It was blistering pretty badly. It was a deep scorch mark, but nothing crippling. He had survived much, much worse.

"God, that must hurt."

"Just a scratch," he murmured, wincing as she touched the unharmed skin just below his left shoulder. "It's only a flesh wound."

There was a knock at the door. Garfield jumped only slightly, stood, and looked wordlessly at Raven.

"Raven?" It was Cyborg. "It's time to go to the hospital and start your healing sessions with Robin."

Raven looked back at Garfield. "I'll meet you guys there, Cy."

"I'm not going just yet. Starfire's already there. I'll meet up with you two in a bit."

"Ok, thanks."

"No prob."

She heard his footsteps clunking away. She was surprised she hadn't heard them coming in the first place, but then again, she had been caught up in her worry for Garfield.

"I'll see you soon?" she asked, rather than stated.

"Soon, I promise."

He leaned over the bed and gently pressed his lips to hers. She savored the small sign of affection, and in moments he had disappeared with a pop.

Time to start the very, very long healing process.

**TT**

When Raven arrived, Starfire was already in the room. The door was cracked only slightly, and though she had qualms about it, Raven couldn't help but stand silently outside as Starfire spoke in a calm whisper to Robin's comatose body. Starfire knew he wouldn't hear a thing, but it comforted her to speak to him, anything and everything that was on her mind.

"I am sorry for our fight. I am sorry for what I said. I did not mean a word, Robin. Oh, only if you could hear me and I could truly take it all back," her sugar-sweet voice sounded broken, as if she were crying. She probably was. "I miss you, Robin. I miss your touch, your kiss. I need you here. I need you."

Starfire sighed, and Raven was about to push the door open, before she spoke once more.

"But having you in such a state has made me realize something very crucial to whatever story we may weave together, Robin. Something I cannot bear to think but it is oh so true."

Another pause, but Raven dare not disturb this one. She couldn't approve of eavesdropping, but she was just so intrigued now.

"_Love of mine, some day you will die, but I will be close behind. I will follow you into the dark_. I could simply not bear to live without you, Robin. You are my one true love. Planet Earth is no home for me without you on it. You cannot leave me. You simply cannot."

At this, Raven barged in. She couldn't bear to think about the implications of Starfire's statements. She didn't mean what Raven assumed she meant. Did she?

"Starfire, I-"

"Raven, I did not know you were there! Oh, I am so sorry, begin your healing, please. We need him well as soon as possible!" Without another word, she stood and rushed from the room. Raven couldn't get a word in edgewise before she left in a flurry of fire engine red hair.

Raven sighed and slumped into the seat. She calmed herself before quietly whispering her age-old mantra. Her hands glowed intensely as she waved them over Robin's body. The most important part to heal as of now was his brain. Bringing him out of the coma, and possibly restoring some damaged cells were crucial to his survival.

And possibly Starfire's.

**TT**

Raven had taken a short break, during which she dozed off in one of the painfully stiff armchairs in the hospital room. She awoke a few hours later to Cyborg and Starfire both at Robin's bedside, talking quietly as Starfire held his undamaged hand.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Cyborg greeted as he watched her eyes flicker to life. "Have a nice nap?"

"No," she grunted. "Do you know how uncomfortable these chairs are?"

"No, I don't, actually," he retorted. "Being comfortable isn't really a big deal when most of your body parts are made of metal."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky. I wish my ass was metal so at least it didn't feel like a pin cushion right now."

Raven sighed and pushed herself up, looking over Robin's body. There was no change. At least, if there was, she couldn't readily see it.

"I don't suppose anything's changed?" Raven asked.

They both shook their heads wordlessly. The age old mantra slipped through her lips, before her hands began to glow bright white. She focused the energy over his head, still the most crucial part to heal. She could feel only a slight portion of the pain Robin would feel; half her face was tingling as if burnt and she felt the onset of a massive migraine. That's how she knew what to focus on. Whenever healing someone, she would feel a bit of their pain.

"How is it proceeding?" Starfire asked calmly.

"I haven't noticed a change yet, but hopefully within a few days we'll see some progress," Raven replied monotonously. "Optimistically by tomorrow night I'll have some of the damage in his head almost completely healed."

"That is great news," Starfire replied, without much feeling to her sentiments. It was almost as if she were giving up hope. If Starfire was giving up hope, something must be wrong with the world.

Suddenly, the colors of the world around her melted away into blackness. Raven couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't scream for help. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. All around her was blackness, but she could still feel Robin's pain and still hear Starfire and Cyborg talking quietly around her.

"Raven? Raven? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Cyborg…." Starfire's voice wavered. "She looks….she looks so scared. Cyborg!"

"Raven…Raven! Raven…." Slowly Cyborg's voice died out and was replaced by a much more familiar one.

"Robin! ROBIN! GET OUT OF THERE!"

In a flash of bright white, flames started licking around her body. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. They lapped at her skin, but instead of burning hot it felt ice cold. She fell to the ground. All she saw was red. Her eyes began to close of their own accord. She willed them to open, but to no avail.

They snapped to alertness. Beast Boy was standing above her, his face pale green but his eyes shining with tears. He was in his Red X suit.

"Robin, Robin, please! Stay awake. Can you hear me? You'll be ok, I promise. Oh God, why did I send you here? Why did I do this to you? Robin, please, stay awake!"

Raven finally understood. In Robin's comatose state, his mind was working, but just barely. He was reliving that night that Beast Boy pulled him from the flames of Plasmus's fire.

As quick as it had come, it was gone. Raven snapped back to the bright white of the hospital room. She barely had time to register what had just happened before Starfire eagerly questioned, "Raven, what happened?"

"I…I don't know," she answered unsurely. "I think I saw into Robin's mind. I think he's replaying memories."

"Of what?" Cyborg asked. "The fight?"

"No," she lied. "They're…um…they're of Starfire."

The alien turned bright red in the cheeks, before reaching for his hand once more. "Oh, dear Robin!"

Raven inwardly sighed. She had saved herself there. It was better to outright lie then try and weave her way around the fact that Robin saw Beast Boy, in the Red X suit, pull him from the fire. Then, it finally hit her; Robin knew Beast Boy was Red X. She saw what he saw, and he saw everything.

Whether he would live to tell the tale or not was a different story entirely.

**TT**

How was it? Awful? I haven't done this writing thing in quite a while, but I hate to keep this story on such a long hiatus as it's been. Please review and I'll keep up the work!


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